27 That Day Pt.2
"Well, that went well, right?" Karl said, with a smile on his face. Oh yes, it went well… if you didn't consider the fact that I was almost a scapegoat!
But, I'm kinda relieved that we had avoided a scuffle. Last thing I'd want Mom to know was that we got into a fight again, and the reaction for the last one was still fresh in our minds…
"Let's go back." I said, signaling the other two. We had already wasted far too much time looking for a certain brat!
During our journey, Karl and Armin were surprisingly quiet. After what we saw, I expected Karl to give a few snarky quips, but he actually didn't... That's definitely weird, right?
Anyway, arriving at our house, I knocked on the door, expecting to be chewed at by Mom for being late. But, it was a surprising someone that opened the door instead.
"Eh? Mikasa?! How did you..?" Was all I was able to say before being rudely interrupted…
"You're late." She said, eyeing the three of us with an examining look. Suddenly, a cold light flashed in her eyes as her tone went frigid.
"Did you get into a fight again…?" She asked alternating her eerily terrifying gaze at each of us, at which, the three of us shook our heads vigorously. Just then, we were saved by the timely entrance of Mom.
"Kids come in! Ah, Hello Armin! Would you like to eat with us?" She asked, preparing the table.
"Yes!" Armin said, as we freshened up and gathered at the table.
With that, the four of us enjoyed our lunch. Learning that Mikasa helped with the cooking all afternoon, I couldn't help but be surprised!
Soon enough, Dad arrived and sat with us. It was an ordinary morning, just like any other day…
"Eren says he wants to join the Survey Corps."
Until this damn bastard Karl betrayed me! The nerve of this little snitch!
"Eren! Do you have any idea what you're talking about?!" Mom rushed to me and shook me by my shoulders with an obviously angered look.
"Didn't you say you wanted to join the Military Police with Karl?!"
"But that was when I younger!" I argued. It was not like I wanted to anyway. I just got swept by the flow and blurted it out in a moment of indecisiveness…
"No! Do you know how many people die outside the walls everyday?!" She stated the most obvious fact, rendering me completely speechless.
Of course I knew... It was just today that I saw the Survey Corps return... That mother's grief as she held the remains of her child... I knew it was almost certain to be a death sentence.
But still, I wanted to do it!
"Eren why do you want to go?" Dad finally asked, looking me straight in the eyes.
"I don't want to rot away within these walls without knowing anything about this world! That's why, I wish to continue the legacy of the Survey Corps!!"
"If no one carries on their legacy, wouldn't the sacrifices of those until now be of waste?!" With that line, everyone turned silent as Dad gave a small nod. He slowly stood up as he left for the door while Mom continued to argue with him.
After kinda convincing Mom of my choice, Dad reached out to his coat and pulled out a certain key.
"Eren, when we're back, I'll show you what's in the basement." He said, holding up the glistening key towards me.
"Really?!" I answered, completely ecstatic at those words! Finally, I'd see what's inside that basement!
"Yes, but you'll have to promise me to always listen to your brother."
I was on cloud nine, so I quickly agreed to that unsavory condition. Yet, Mom burst my bubble before it even took flight…
"Not a chance! I forbid you to even think about them anymore!!" She scolded, giving both Dad and I a deathly glare. Dad laughed helplessly as he left while Mom continued to dissuade me…
"Mom, let me deal with this." Soon enough, Karl spoke up after being unnaturally quiet for a while. Did he forget that all of this happened because he opened his damn mouth in the first place?!
"Eren, wait for me near Mikasa's house. I'll join you guys in a minute." He said as Mikasa dragged the both of us outside, much against our wills. Mom continued to argue as Karl tried to reason(?) with her, which could still be heard for quite a distance…
"Your Mother is scary…" Armin said with a slight, but noticeable shiver. If only he knew that this wasn't even her final form…
"Let's go." Mikasa added with her usual expressionless face, leaving us no choice but to follow.
So, with Karl bearing the brunt of Mom's wrath, we continued on our path to Mikasa's house. I didn't have any particular qualms about it because it's been a while since I played with Arran.
Arriving at her house, the first thing we saw was a young kid running into Mikasa's arms, to which, she flashed one of her rare smiles. Of course, once the child saw us, he shrunk back using his sister as a shield.
"Hey Arran!" I waved with a bright smile as he peeked over shyly. The child continued to stare even after Armin greeted him, after which he slowly opened his cute mouth.
"…Hello." He replied as his chubby cheeks wobbled, making me chuckle at the familiarity of the situation. Well, the last time I pinched his cheeks… I'd already learned my lesson for that…
'Wait a… Is it just me or is Mikasa turning into a mini-Mom for me…?' I mused, involuntarily shuddering at that cursed thought! That's the stuff of nightmares, I kid you not!!
BOOM!!!
Just then a thunderous shockwave rang out as I saw lightning fall from the sky, lifting us into the air for a second. Landing with a thud, I looked around in panic, trying to make sense of what just happened.
"An explosion?!" I blurted out, as Mikasa clutched Arran tighter and Armin shared my concerns.
A huge commotion started in the crowd which quieted down just as quick as they looked towards a certain direction. Following their gaze, my body stiffened once I realized what was happening…
A few cries of terror and despair echoed as most of the people stood still, either trying to process this situation or outright denying it. Unfortunately, I was part of the latter…
It was a face... A gigantic face that stared at us from behind the walls… It slowly turned from left to right, probably looking at the people within.
"Th-those walls are 50 me-meters h-high!!" Armin stuttered as his knees weakened as Mikasa had a grim look. Meanwhile, I continued to stare at that face, until a familiar voice broke me from my stupor.
"Eren!!! RUN!!!!" A faraway voice called out, as I turned towards it. In the distance, I could see Karl and Mom running towards us.
"Head Towards The Docks!!" He shouted, as I regained my senses. Pulling Armin up by the arm, I turned towards Mikasa who had already begun to fetch her mother.
BOOM!!!!
A louder shockwave rang out as a huge gust of hot air brushed past us. Yet, what caught my eye was a huge shadow, high up in the sky, hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speed!
And, the worst part being that it was heading straight to where Mon and Karl were!!
"Mom!!! Karl!!! Looko-!!!" I screamed a little too late, as I saw that huge rock land right on their figures, forming a huge cloud of dust…
"..." I stared at that scene in despair as my feet moved by themselves, rushing through the crowd of terrified people…
"Eren!!" Armin screamed as he followed after me, yet I couldn't care less. With a singular thought of going there, I ran. I continued running, even as a hail of rocks brushed past me, even as I was engulfed by the dust cloud, I continued… until I was abruptly pulled back, falling straight on my ass…
"When I said run… I meant… The other way… You Dumbass!!!" I heard a certain irritable voice, which made me feel glad instead. Seeing Mom and Karl still alive filled my heart with a certain calmness, which was lost the very next second.
"What are you doing?!!!" Mom screamed as she pulled both of us and ran the other way. Bumping into Armin, who teared up in relief, all of us ran towards the docks without another word.
The honking of the ships reached our ears as did the sound of something crashing behind us. Taking a quick peek, an utterly horrid scene was in full display as the cries of the unfortunate ones reached my ears.
A small titan with a gigantic lipless face and huge claws was creating a scene of carnage, not by eating humans, but by destroying every single building in it's path, approaching closer by the second…!!
"Run!! Run faster!!!!!" Karl bellowed as he looked back in surprise and despair, an emotion I was seeing for the first time…
Narrowly dodging the rubble that damn titan was hurling around, we arrived at the edge of the street, where a crowd gathered.
"This Way!!" I heard Mikasa call out, standing a little bit ahead of us with her family. I was about to return the call, just as Mikasa's expression changed.
"Wha-" I blurted out, only to notice that huge faced titan from the corner of my eye. The next thing I knew, I was falling through the air, landing on the uneven ground with a loud thud, accompanied by a cracking sound…
"AARGH!!!" A sound escaped my throat as a metallic taste filled my mouth just as I coughed. Groggily looking around, I saw the fainted figure of Armin to my side. Getting on my feet with much difficulty, I clutched my sides as I felt a searing pain.
'At least, I'm not bleeding…' I thought as I shook my throbbing head. Feeling better, I looked towards where I stood a moment ago, only to see Karl's kneeling figure amidst hundreds of bodies, as he tried to lift a humongous piece of rubble.
"Karl!!!" I screamed, noticing the horrid state he was in. Almost every single part of his body was dyed red as a bloody piece of wood was lodged in his thighs… Yet, he continued to lift that humongous piece of rubble, uncaring of my shout…
"What are you-!!" I said, running up to him as I finally realized where Mom was… Without another word, I dropped beside him, helping him lift that damned wreckage.
"You… Two.. Leave…" Mom said as she coughed, trying to push us away… Yet, we didn't pay any mind, for there was only a single task we had to do. With almost half of her body stuck under there, a bleeding head and a broken arm, she still tried to dissuade us… But we didn't even bother listening.
"GO…!!!" She screamed as she coughed up blood, as her face was slowly dyed red… Still, we didn't stop as we continued to lift the rubble. Finally, I turned as I heard a cracking sound, only to realize that it was from Karl's hand.
""KARL!!!"" The both of us screamed as I let go, only to be ignored by the bleeding runt! Suddenly, in a fit of madness, he screamed, causing a noticeable lift in the huge piece of wood!! Yet, it was still not enough…
In the end, he collapsed on the ground as he bled profusely and all I could do was blankly stare at the scene… Just then, the rhythmic sound of thumping reached my ears as a certain chill rushed through my spine…
Slowly, I turned to look at the source, only to be greeted by a smiling titan heading straight towards us… My chest tightened as tears threatened to fall, only to be stopped by a small tug…
"Eren... Karl… Please Go…!!!" Mom tried to push my feet amidst tears while I still refused to do so! There was no way I was going to leave my Mom here…!!!
"Why?! Why did this…?!!!" I cursed at my own powerlessness as I shed a few tears, waiting for the inevitable to happen… Yet, it never did.
I felt myself being dragged across the ground as a certain blonde man picked up Karl and Armin in his arms. Turing back, I could see Mikasa pulling me by the collar as the figure of my Mom was growing farther away…
"Mom…!!" I reached out to her, only to go farther away from her. Soon enough, white dots began covering my vision as the titan finally reached Mom, grabbed her and…
With a look of complete and utter despair, I had no choice but to watch my Mom being devoured by a titan… With what little was left of my sanity, I howled in rage and hatred, making a single promise to myself… And then, I blacked out.
***
A/N: 2.2K word count...
Edit: The day that Wall Maria broke was never mentioned... Just wanted to add that.
Also, anyone realize that the Jaw is alive...?
