The day Wall Maria fell to the Titans, soldier Arden Keiser selfishly chose to save herself. She disobeyed direct orders and abandoned her role within the Garrison Regiment, taking the life of another as she did so. She made an attempt to escape fro...
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Selfishness was considered by most to be a shameful trait, but some moments, humanity as a whole carried that trait clear on their chests. Some moments, humanity thought of nothing but themselves.
It was survival which often drove humanity to that point, as their habitual desire to live was selfish in itself. Did that label humanity as hypocritical, inconsiderate monsters? For in moments such as the day Shiganshina crumbled, humanity as a whole wanted nothing more than to survive. They all carried that want to live with them as they ran for their lives. That desperation to breathe air and to feel peace—to rid themselves of the blisteringly loud screams and their quivering limbs—it was felt by everyone. Selflessness and heroism never once mattered during the Fall of Wall Maria. Not to the innocent. Not to the guilty. Not to the civilians, and certainly not to the Garrison Regiment.
The soldiers of the Garrison Regiment never expected to risk their lives. Especially not for the betterment of humanity. Did that label them as selfish? Or were they simply protecting themselves, standing more intelligent than those who ran headfirst into certain death?
The morning of the Fall of Wall Maria, hours before Shiganshina came face to face with their fate, the Garrison Regiment again remembered that label and those questions. To be selfish, to want to live, to protect oneself... What did it all matter, anyways? In their lives, there was a fitting place for the few soldiers who were selfless and had little care over themselves. The government had made a place for suicidal soldiers such as them.
Just that morning, before Shiganshina's darkest moment arrived, soldiers and horses trudged slowly through the dusty streets, their dirtied green capes waving with the gentle wind. Some soldiers stared down at their bloodied feet. Others stared ahead with blank, dead eyes. Some soldiers lay motionless in horse-drawn carts, their eyes hung open, never to blink again.
Death was unavoidable in the Scout Regiment, and their soldiers claimed it made them selfless. However, they were outnumbered, as the citizens often thought them to simply be stupid. Suicidal, the Garrison Regiment often called them.
As the Scout Regiment moved slowly through the streets, Shiganshina's civilians hurled insults and trash into the streets, demanding retribution for all that was lost. Some spoke of their taxes. Others demanded something to be done about their family who died beyond the walls.
"Moses! Moses!"
From the crowd of disgruntled civilians, an older woman stumbled forward. Her bottom lip quivered violently. Tears were already welling in her widened eyes as she stared into the eyes of the man who led the Scout Regiment forward.
"I don't see my son, Moses, anywhere," the mother said, her voice thin and frail. "Do you know where he is?"
From the sea of bloodied soldiers, a man stepped forward with a wrapped package. Blood and dirt decorated the cheap linen. With little care, he dropped it into the woman's shaking arms. She stared for a moment, unsure of what to do with it, but then finally unwrapped it. A bruised hand poked out from beneath the wrappings. What she held was a singular arm with its owner lost, now only to be found in memories.
