Chapter 22 - Chapter 21: Alone

Time skip, a few hours later...

Your POV:

'I'm lying in a small bed, nice soft warm blankets are wrapped tightly around me. I hum happily to myself, enjoying the quiet of my small room.

I can here mama in the kitchen washing dishes. I loved listening to mama do chores, it always soothes me for some reason. I love her quiet reassuring presence as I drift off to sleep.

I hear my door open. It can't be mama, she always knocks on the door no matter what. "Get up, (y/n)." It's a man's voice, I feel like I have heard it before. But I don't answer him, I'm too scared.

"She's just a little girl, Seth!" I can hear my mama rushing toward my bedroom.

"I don't care! She needs to learn now, or men from all over this shit hole will be lining up to kidnap and rape her. Is that what you want, Laney?!" I hear the man yell at my mama.

I keep my eyes shut tight, refusing to look at the man, somehow believing that maybe if I didn't look at him he would leave me alone.

"Open your eyes, (y/n)! Stop being scared, you have to face things head on! Now get up! Get up now if you want to survive!"

"Stop it! She's only 5!" I hear mama cry.

"It doesn't matter! No matter what, down here you have to fight everyday of your life!" The man yells at mama, he's scary.

"Now, up child! You want to live don't you? Then learn to fight! Learn to survive, (y/n)! No daughter of mine is going to just give up. If that's the way you're going to act when you're scared, you might as well die now!"'

...

My eyes slowly flutter open and I'm staring up at the huge trees, leaves blowing softly in the wind. Where am I? What am I doing here? Why are the trees so tall? Where is my squad? Levi? Erwin?

Then it all comes rushing back to me. Everyone on my squad is dead. Is Eren dead too? What happened? How long have I been lying here?

I try to sit up, but my body screams for me to stay still. Every time I try to breathe I feel my ribs protest. I must have broken several ribs. I fell from a decent height, I should check to see if I broke any bones in my limbs.

I move my arms first, as well as my fingers. I can move them fine, they are bruised, but nothing is broken.

Now for my legs, immediately I feel pain shoot up and down my left leg. Shit, broken probably. I have to take a look at it, if bone has broken skin, I'm done for.

It's impossible to ignore the pain in my ribs, but I grit my teeth and sit myself up against the tree I fell beside. The effort made me breathe heavier, which my broken ribs were not pleased with.

I sit against the tree and steady my breathing before I try and look at my leg. Honestly, I'm scared to look. I grab the knife I keep strapped to my thigh to cut through my left pant leg.

I carefully cut the material away, giving me a better look at my leg. To my relief no bone was sticking out of my skin, that's good at least. There doesn't seem to be any nicked blood vessels either. I'm pretty lucky considering the circumstances. There is an ugly lump sticking out were the broken bone of my tibia is threatening to break free of the safety on my skin.

Next, I slowly unbutton my shirt to get a look at my upper body. I have bruising all around my ribs, yep definitely some broken ribs.

I sigh and look at my surroundings. There is no one around, that's bad. But, there are no titans in the area, that's good at least. What happened after I blacked out? Did Eren defeat the female titan?

Did everyone leave without me, figuring I was with Hange like I was supposed to be? They probably won't notice until they make it back to the walls. By then it will be too late. Higher ups are not going to let people come out and look for me, and they would be right.

They can't send out a search party into hostile territory to find one girl, who will probably already be assumed dead since she is stuck in titan territory.

Well, I'm not going down without a fighting chance. First things first, I have to set the bone in my leg. I've had to do it for others, but never to myself, so this should be fun.

What am I going to use to splint my leg with? Come on (y/n), you can figure this out, be resourceful, remember?

I suppose I could cut a couple straight and thick branches off one of these trees. But what am I going to use to hold them there and stabilize my leg?

My belts! I can use my belts to straighten my leg and keep it in the right position. But, I need to move out of this position first, I'm far too exposed to titans here. At least I didn't break my more dominant right leg; my right leg is always the one I use to slow down and stop on my ODM gear.

My body is not going to like this, but I have no choice. Humans did used to live here before wall Maria was breeched, so there may be a house nearby I can stay in.

What about after that? After I set my leg, how am I going to get back to the walls? I can't use ODM gear since there is nothing to attach the anchors to once I leave the forest. I'll have to keep on the look out for any surviving horses. The odds of that happening are slim to none, but I can't think of any other way.

I don't have a lot of gas left in my canisters, so I can't waste too much time. As much as my body refuses, I force myself to stand using my blades. I almost fall right back down, the pain in my broken leg was just too much.

I quickly deploy my anchors to trees that are close together, so I can move a bit slower. The belts squeeze against my broken ribs, but I grit my teeth and do my best to ignore it. If you don't find shelter and fix yourself, you are going to die (y/n), you can do this.

I look around me as I swing from tree to tree, looking for anyone else. I see a lot of blood in the area, but no bodies. I recognize one area where my squad mates were killed. The female titan really did throw me quite far.

I was distracted by the scene and I wasn't paying attention to a titan that was coming toward me. It grabbed onto one of my cables, jerking me back hard, the pain is so bad that I can't see straight. I let out a weak cry of anger at the 10m titan's grinning face. "Come on then, fucker! I'll fucking kill you!" I must have been a very intimidating site indeed.

A short girl with broken ribs and a broken leg, dangling from one cable, as the Titan still has hold of the other, screaming at the Titan. Yep, terrifying indeed.

Just before the Titan reaches up to grab me, another Titan grabs it and bites at the nape to kill it. I was half expecting to see it was Eren's Titan, but it wasn't. It was the female titan.

"You." I glare at her, "YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

The female titan just stares at me, "What are you waiting for?! Finish the job!" I'm not able to get enough air in my lungs with my ribs complaining, so I can't yell the way I want to.

She blinks at me a few more times, then turns and starts to make her way out of the forest. "Get back here! If you don't finish me off here I'm going to kill you, bitch! Do you hear me?! You're dead!"

I've never been this angry before. The pain all over my body and the confusing interaction with the female titan is making me furious. I can feel angry tears leaking from my eyes. No. I can't let my body lose too much water, I don't know if I'll be able to find any fresh water here.

I try to calm myself down, still dangling from my one cable still attached to the tree. The other cable retracted after the Titan let go of it when the female titan killed it. Why did she save me?

I don't have time to think about that, I need to look for shelter. I continue along as slowly as the ODM gear will allow me to. I come across another area where there is a lot of blood, but no human bodies, only a few dead horses.

I lower myself down to check the left over saddle bags to see if anyone left any food or water behind. I slowly and painfully limp over to them, trying to keep my left leg as still as possible while leaning on my blades.

Looks like only one horse has saddle bags still attached to it. I felt horrible for the poor horses, they don't ask for any of this. We force them to do this, and a lot of them get killed in the process. "I'm sorry." I murmur to the dead horse and look into the saddle bag.

Yes! There is a bottle of water! As I lift it up I realize it is only about half full. It's better than nothing though. I rummage through the rest of it just in case, but there is nothing else.

So I grit my teeth and take off slowly again, keeping my eyes peeled for shelter. Then I see it. A small cabin to my left. I plant my anchors into the closest tree to the house, and slowly lower myself to the ground.

I very slowly make my way to the little cabin, pleading to my body not to give up yet. It hurts so much, but I'm so close.

I reach the door and open it slowly. I see a dusty bed in the corner and a table with a few chairs, but nothing really else. Works for me.

As soon as I'm inside and close the door, my only good leg gives up, sending me tumbling to the ground. I land on my back and hit my broken leg against the floor, causing me so much pain I pass out.

...

'"Get up, (y/n)!" I hear my father snarl at me as I look up at him, wiping blood from the side of my mouth.

"That was a cheap shot you asshole!" I yell at him, "You distracted me on purpose!"

He doesn't wait for me to get up. He lunges at me and picks me up by the front of my shirt, angry (e/c) eyes staring into mine. "I'm sorry, princess, was I not fighting fair? Shall I let you know my moves before I make them? Because that's how people in the underground fight. Fairly." He scoffs at me and throws me away from him.

"My eyes told you I was distracted, but my body told you all you needed to know to block my attack." He growls at me. "We've been out here for hours, just let me go and rest." I cry, my 7 year old self tired and bruised from his most recent 'lesson'.

"You don't get to rest! No matter what, fight! Fight through the pain! Fight through the fatigue! Fight through everything! Now get up! Stop being weak!"'

...

I open my eyes slowly, looking up at the roof of the cabin. Ugh, my father is the worst. I'm glad I haven't seen him since I was 13.

Alright, enough, it is time to get this leg set. I prop myself up on my elbows and look towards the table and chairs. I can use a couple of the chair legs, they are straight and thick enough to work. Plus, I can use the longer wooden table legs of the table as canes to help me move when I stand.

I drag my broken body over to the chairs. It cost me a lot of effort, so I had to take a break before grabbing my knife to cut off the chair legs.

It felt like forever, but I was able to cut 2 of the legs off. I drag myself over to the wall so I can lean against it while I set my leg. I take a deep breath as I stare down at my broken leg and the chair legs.

I remove a few of the belts from my legs so I can tighten them around my broken leg to keep the chair legs and bone in place. I have a little bit of gas left, but I won't be able to use the ODM gear properly with missing belts.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Erwin's POV:

It took us a few hours to get back to the walls. After getting ridiculed by the public, we were now unloading the injured cadets and other supplies.

We lost a lot of people, but at least we learned a few things. We can confirm there are more titan shifters and whoever they are, they are definitely targeting Eren for something.

I wonder how mad (y/n) is at me for making her go back with Hange. Yes, it was selfish of me to send her away to another squad. But I had a feeling the female titan would try to go for Eren again after she escaped. I wanted to at least try to keep her safe.

Eren has been in and out of consciousness for the entire ride back to HQ. He doesn't seem to remember what happened after the initial capture of the female titan.

I see Levi limping out of one of the supply wagons, "You really shouldn't be doing that," I say to him, "You don't have to help unload, go see Dr. Thompson."

"I'm fine," He replies as he grabs a box out of the wagon. "I'm sorry about your squad." I say to him quietly. Levi stops for a moment, but doesn't say anything. He puts the box down inside and makes his way back to grab another.

"Have you seen (y/n) yet?" Levi asked me as he limped over to another box. "No," I answer, "I was going to go find Hange and find out where she is."

"I'll go with you." Levi replies as he puts the box down carefully.

I wonder if she knows her squad was wiped out yet. How are we going to tell her? She will be very angry she wasn't there to help them.

We see Hange helping a scout with a missing leg onto a stretcher to be taken inside, "Oh! Eyebrows! Shorty! This is the cadet (y/n) saved!"

"Hange, let the poor man be taken in to see Thompson already." I sigh as she lifts Oliver up slightly to see us.

She laughs and asks Moblit and another cadet to take him in on the stretcher. "Why are you 2 hanging out here?" She asked us as we stood there staring at her.

"We're looking for (y/n), is she helping with the wounded inside?" Levi asked her, looking around to see if he can see her nearby.

"Huh?" Hange responded, giving him a confused look, "How would I know where she is, she's a part of your squad, no?"

"Enough joking," I sigh in frustration, "Just tell us where she is."

"I haven't seen her since before you gave the order for us to retreat, I swear." She answers me seriously.

"Where is Eren?" I ask Levi, panic beginning to bubble up inside me. As I look at Levi I can tell he is feeling the same.

Instead of answering me he starts walking away as fast as his injured ankle would let him. I follow him, knowing he is heading straight for Eren.

We head inside toward the hospital wing. When we get there, most of the beds are occupied by wounded soldiers. I see Eren who appears to be passed out again, on a bed in the corner, Mikasa Ackerman sitting by his side.

When we reach Eren, Levi immediately starts to shake him. Mikasa glares at him but does nothing to get in his way, "Eren," Levi said loudly, "Did you see (y/n) shortly before you turned into a titan?"

Eren slowly opens his eyes, but doesn't show any sign that he heard what Levi asked. But then he sits up so quickly it startles all of us. "(Y/n)?" Eren groaned while rubbing his head. "Yeah, what happened to her?" Levi pressed.

"She was with us when we were retreating, but then the female titan showed up... She was with me when everyone else died... The female titan grabbed her and threw her.." Eren tries to explain, "Oh no!" He shouted suddenly, "We have to go, we have to save her! Where is she?!" Eren looked desperately around at the wounded scattered around the hospital wing, looking for (y/n).

Mikasa tried to calm Eren down and keep him from moving too much. So it's true, my worst fear has been realized, she was hurt and left behind. I felt sick. We were in a hurry to get back to the walls, so no one went out searching for wounded. We just grabbed as many of the dead as we could and retreated.

I sit down in an open chair trying to compose myself. She was supposed to be with Hange, if her stubborn ass had just listened to my instructions, this would not have.... No, stop thinking about it like that. What's done is done and now I have to get her back. There is no way I'm letting her die, no way.

"Erwin," I lift my head to see Levi standing in front of me, "What are we going to do? We have to get her back."

I nod, "Follow me." I tell him as I stand up from my chair and we leave the hospital wing.

Your POV:

I had to be careful not to drink too much of the little bit of water I have. I need to make this last for as long as I can, I don't know how long it'll be until I find more. People used to live here, so there has to be some form of natural water source around here somewhere.

At least I was able to stabilize my leg, the chair legs and the belts seem to be holding it in place okay. I didn't know if I would be able to, honestly. The pain was almost more than I could bear.

I'm still sitting up against the wall, just trying to relax and catch my breath before moving to the bed. Now that I found shelter and took care of my leg for the time being, my mind wanders to the expedition.

It finally seemed to hit me that most of my squad mates were dead. I'll miss them a lot, especially Oluo oddly enough. But we got pretty close when we were competing, and I really appreciated his friendship after that.

I wonder if Eren is okay. The female titan was clearly not in a hurry when I ran into her, so I doubt she succeeded in capturing Eren. So he is probably alive.

Erwin and Levi have probably realized that I didn't follow their instructions for going with Hange after the signal to retreat. I chuckle a little bit at that, I have a strange sense of humour.

I should stay off my leg for at least a few days before going out to see if I can find food and water. I don't have any food, but dehydration will kill me faster, and I do have some water that should last me for a couple days if I use it sparingly.

I feel my eye lids getting heavy, so I make my way over to the bed. I sighed as I slowly and carefully dragged my body toward the bed. Not dissimilar to the way I dragged my hungover body across Levi's floor. The memory made me laugh and then moan in pain from my broken ribs.

I finally reach the bed and pull my upper body onto it. Then I use my right leg to hoist the rest of my body up. The effort was making me breathe a little too heavily again. I have to be more careful, I can't afford any broken ribs puncturing a lung.

I steady my breathing again and lay myself down gently on the dusty old bed. But after everything, it felt like the most comfortable bed I have ever been on. Although, I would have appreciated Erwin's warm body next to me, like the last morning I woke up when I was staying in his room.

I hope Erwin and Levi are okay, and I hope they know better than to waste their time and resources to come out and get me. I'm not worth the effort, if I survive out here on my own. If not, then that's just the way it is.

The most comfortable position I can lay in is on my back. Not ideal, but I don't exactly have a choice. Regardless, I start drifting off to sleep.