Shorter Than Me

17 Levi

We ride quickly for about thirty minutes. During this time, the sun rises. We don't see any titans, however. Arlert's idea must be working.

"Levi, can we go look for a titan? I want to see how long it takes for them to get their energy back," Hanji asks me.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Shut up."

"PLEASE?"

It goes on like this for at least three minutes before Hanji gives up.

"You're not fun at all," she pouts.

As if she thought I was. I'm not going to waste precious time and lives for something as small as that.

We reach the edge of the forest at last and I tell Ackerman to fire the signal. We get a response and keep riding over the hills.

Occasionally we see a titan or two, but we move to the side and outrun them.

No one talks for a while. It takes the other group the same amount of time to reach the edge of the forest as it did this group. They send up a signal and we send one up in response.

This is the boring part of expeditions. Riding horses. Hanji strikes up a conversation with Jaeger, but I'm too far ahead of them to hear what it's about. I don't care anyway. Whatever questions Hanji asks are things I don't want to know the answer to.

I stare at the ground in front of me coming closer in a blur before disappearing beneath my horse's head. I know that because of this, I will see things moving away from me when we stop moving. It's always disorienting for the eyes.

***

"You never talk while riding out here." Petra had sped up to talk to me on one of the expeditions. We were headed back to Wall Rose.

As if to prove her point, I didn't respond.

"Why?" she asked. "Do you like thinking or are you really lonely?"

"I like the silence," I replied simply.

"Captain Levi likes something!" she said in mock surprise. "That's a first."

"No, it's not."

"You're right. Captain Levi likes killing titans, being rude to people, and cleaning things."

"You're wrong," I said.

"About what? You really don't like being rude to others?" she said almost hopefully.

"They deserve it, so yes, I enjoy being rude to them. You're wrong about cleaning. I don't like cleaning."

She laughed for at least a minute. "I didn't know you could make jokes."

"You know I wasn't joking. I only clean because I hate every single speck of dust or out-of-place object."

"Hate is a strong word," she teased.

"Fine. I despise disorder and uncleanliness with every part of my soul and being."

"So you like cleaning." She said it like she won something.

"Whatever."

She rolled her pretty eyes and laughed. I admired the way her hair danced as the horse moved. Little did I know that she would not be returning from the next expedition.

***

This is where they let her go. This is where I told them to throw the bodies out in order to let us escape. Her last service to the cause. She literally gave everything, her body, her time, her life.

That was mine once. All of her was mine until she gave it to someone else. Humanity.

So can I blame humanity for stealing her from me? Should I be serving the thing that stole my only source of happiness in the world?

Or do I just accept that she chose something over me? Saving Jaeger, helping humanity, and breaking my heart; or abandoning Jaeger, betraying humanity, and being with me?

But it was one part of her I loved. Her loyalty to what was right. If she had chosen anything else to do, she wouldn't be the same Petra that I loved. If she was any different, I would not have loved her.

"Captain!" Ackerman shouts. I glance back at her. She points behind herself and I look there.

A purple cloud rises to the sky.

The other group is in distress. Major distress.

"Captain, we need to go back!" Jaeger says. His best friend is there.

I need to make a decision. What are the odds that Jaeger will get back safely if we go back to help them? Less.

"Keep going forward," I order.

"We're abandoning them back there, sir?" Guiin asks.

"Yes."

"But, captain!" Jaeger protests. I can hear the desperation in his voice.

"Keep going forward," I repeat.

"Captain, you told me before that I should choose whichever decision I regret the least. The last time I chose, I regretted it more than anything. I couldn't save them then, but I can save these ones now." I glance back and see Jaeger jump off his horse and start running back the way we came. Once he's about twenty feet away, he explodes into a titan and continues running back. Ackerman pulls her horse around without hesitation and follows. Hanji goes next and Guiin just looks at me.

Jaeger's decision last time cost me my love and my friends. He doesn't want this one to take away his friends.

I pull on the reins and my horse turns in a wide half-circle. Guiin steers her horse parallel to mine and we quickly follow the running titan and horses.

Yayyy! I mean oh no! They're in danger! But I haven't had a flashback in a long time so yayyy!

Is anyone going to die? What will happen? Was Eren's decision the right one this time?

The picture is from the internet, words and all. Thanks for reading, voting, commenting, etc.

Now I have a question. Choose one and tell me. Here it is. Pick one.

BOY or GIRL?