Shorter Than Me

23 Ecyn

We rode our horses for about half the day, stopping occasionally. One of the other captains, Captain Wade, is leading us. He's at least thirty and has been in the Scouting Legion the longest. He's in charge of the whole trip.

We ride through the gates and people stare at us. They don't know why we're here. We can't go on an expedition because the gate is blocked. We find a place to tie up our horses and walk to the Wall. There's an elevator in case we want to bring our horses up, but we don't. We ride it to the top. Wade tells everyone to be serious and not play around. He says to be cautious. We exit the elevator and the first thing I notice is the wind. Up this high, it's pretty strong. I feel like if it was any stronger I would be thrown off. Luckily it's blowing sideways, not off the edge.

A couple Garrison soldiers walk up to us.

"Hello, Captain Wade," one of them says. "Welcome to Wall Rose." He spreads his arms, gesturing to the Wall.

"Thank you, Merakus."

Elles says to me, "How long are we supposed to be here, Captain?"

"Just an hour. Then we'll go into town and walk around."

"Doesn't it seem like a kind of waste, ma'am.?"

"It's so you all can see the titans. There won't be an expedition for a few months, but the Commander wanted everyone to know what they're up against."

Merakus dresses us all. "Watch out for the wind. It comes in big gusts sometimes. If you happen to fall off, which I don't expect from the Scouts, don't be afraid to use your maneuver gear." He laughs. "Walk all around the Wall, stay here, just don't go down there." He points over the outside edge.

"And stay with the person who's training you," Wade adds.

The group starts to disperse. I take Elles about fifty feet away to the edge. We stare down. She stays a foot away, but I stand closer. She could shove me off, but I know she won't.

A few titans stand at the base of the Wall. A few more are approaching, probably because of the amount of people up here.

"Could you go down there and survive, Elles?" I ask.

"I don't know, Captain."

"I could."

"I know, ma'am."

"Do you?" I look at her.

"Yes, ma'am. How else does an eighteen-year-old become a Captain?"

She still thinks I'm eighteen. I wonder if she'll ever hear the truth. What will she think of me then?

"If I told you to go down there, would you?"

"No, ma'am. You'd be sending me to my death. And I'm sure the Commander wouldn't like that."

"Would you go down to save someone's life?"

"That depends on who, ma'am."

"Who would you try to save?" I look at her, waiting for an answer. She stares at the ground. I can tell she's thinking.

"My mother, my father, my sister, and her daughter, ma'am."

"Just the ones you love?"

"I might try to save someone else, but I don't have much confidence that I'd succeed. I'd just end up letting us both die, ma'am."

"At least you know your limitations."

"Do you know yours, ma'am?"

"I do. Mostly. I don't normally dwell on what I can't do."