Shorter Than Me

16 Ecyn

Captain Levi holds something out to me. "Fire this."

I grab it and fire the signal into the air.

He jumps off the cliff.

I run closer to the edge.

As he nears the bottom, he slows himself down and lands on the ground.

I hesitate for a few seconds before following. I plummet down faster than I thought I would. I can't think fast enough. I'm going to die.

I stop suddenly.

"That was stupid, Guiin." Captain Levi holds me against the cliff. He's hanging by one cable and is bracing himself against the rocks with a foot. "Did I tell you to follow me and kill yourself?"

"No, sir." But he didn't say I couldn't either.

"Try making smart decisions. Like using your cables now."

I feel his arm releasing me and shoot out a cable to catch myself. He drops back down and I try to see what he's doing. I have a bad angle, so I just pick my way down, hanging onto rocks for dear life.

I reach the ground eventually and walk closer to the steaming body. Its legs look broken or something. The arms are splayed, and I stay back instinctively. The Captain is looking at its nape. As the body disintegrates, I start to see Eren's back. The Wings of Freedom show. Eventually, the top half of his body falls out. I step forward and kneel. Then I grab him by the arms and pull a little. He's really hot to touch. A few seconds later, he's completely out of the body. He's unconscious.

"You found him!" I hear Hanji's scream from the top of the cliff. It looks a lot taller from this angle. At least a hundred feet. I don't want to go up that.

Hanji jumps off the cliff and starts screaming. Captain Levi just stands there.

And... Hanji dies. Noooo. Awww but Levi saved Ecyn and not Hanji. XD

Hanji catches herself and lands on the ground.

Sorry. Another interruption. But if Levi had caught Hanji, I think she might have kissed him. Then he would punch her. Haha. Okay, no more interruptions.

"How is he? Is he alright?" she asks. She kneels next to Eren and checks his pulse. "He's unconscious."

"We can see that, Hanji," I say with a smile. Maybe I'm happy she didn't die. Or maybe I'm relieved Eren is just unconscious.

I remember his 3DMG. I walk to where his hand was. I see the maneuver gear. It looks warped and irreparable. The gas cylinders exploded somehow. I remember learning in school that compressed gas was colder than normal. The heat must have caused it to expand and explode.

The gas can be replaced, but the rest can't.

"Captain," I say.

"What?"

"His maneuver gear is destroyed, sir."

He takes a few steps to see. Then he turns back to Hanji. "You get to carry him up the cliff." Then he walks to the base of the cliff.

"Do you need help?" I ask Hanji.

"No." She looks at Eren. "What can he weigh? A hundred fifty? More?" She looks uncertain.

"Alright." I follow the Captain.

It's a little faster going up. I'm surprised Hanji was able to carry Eren. I couldn't have done that. Maybe Hanji is a titan too.

Eren wakes up when Hanji sets him on the ground. Mikasa kneels down next to him.

"Are you alright?" she asks.

"I think so." He looks a little confused.

"Why did you run away?" Captain Levi demands.

"I heard something like the sound Annie made to call all the titans to herself."

"So you decided to run off by yourself where no one could protect you, without telling anyone what was happening, and destroying your 3DMG in the process." Captain Levi's sarcasm makes sense.

"I'm sorry, sir. My maneuver gear was destroyed?"

"The heat warped it," I explain.

"And we didn't bring wagons so we don't have extras," Hanji says.

"Now you have no way of getting back," Captain Levi says.

I wonder how this will work out.

Yayyyy. That was interesting, wasn't it?

Now guess what! This is the hundredth part in Shorter Than Me!!!! Yay!!!!!

I almost want to give some prize or something to, like, the third comment-er on this part. Or the hundreth comment-er. So if you are the third comment-er on this part, I will give you a... one-way, all-expense-paid ticket to La La Land. Yayyyyy!!!!

And it has to be a legitimate comment not just "What kind of stupid idea is it to have a prize that doesn't even exist?" or "I really really want that ticket. I feel like Charlie Bucket!" (That's from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.)

Thanks so much for reading and getting Shorter Than Me this far. Hearts and kitties all around. (Unless you hate cats or are allergic. Then you get a toy car. Okay, you can have the toy car if you really want.)

~Syre Fayne

(P. S. Chapter 17 is almost done so I'm hoping I can update soon. No promises because of school, but Chapter 17 will be completed sometime in the future. Unless there's an apocalypse. Or something.)

(P. P. S. Don't take that toy car kitty thing seriously. So please don't be disappointed if you don't recieve a digital cat or toy car.)

(P. P. P. S. Sorry for the long author's note, I'm just really happy for the 100th part and for Chapter 17.)