"Hey, you! Bitch! What the hell are you doing?"
The yell came from the front, silencing the forest as all eyes turned toward the cart. A scruffy bandit stood there, pointing angrily at Ymir. The shed-like covering had kept her hidden until now, but her movements gave her away.
The bandit's glare hardened, his rough fingers reaching for the rifle slung over his shoulder. The sound of the weapon cocking made Christa's heart drop.
Slash
Before the man could fire, a glint of steel shot through the air. Mikasa's blade pierced him cleanly from behind, her movements silent and precise. Blood spattered the dirt as his body fell forward with a dull thud.
Bertholdt landed beside her, his expression grim, and the other cadets erupted from the forest in unison, armed with rocks scavenged from the ground.
It was crude, but their desperation turned each throw into a display of brute force. Stones pelted the bandits, their angry shouts echoing in the trees.
Mikasa's sharp voice cut through the chaos. "Ymir! Take the cart and go! Everyone, fall back now!"
Ymir's hands hesitated on the reins as she looked at Christa, fear flickering across her face. But before she could move, the forest erupted with a deafening crack.
Gunshot.
The leader's rifle smoked as a bullet punched through the head of a male cadet, his body collapsing lifelessly onto the dirt. Blood pooled beneath him as his knees buckled, and silence fell for a split second before Hanna's piercing scream shattered it.
"AHHHHH!"
Her ginger hair whipped as she clutched her stomach, doubling over to vomit. The raw anguish in her cry sent a chill down the others' spines.
"ASSHOLES! MAYBE YOU REALLY HATE YOUR LIVES!" the leader bellowed, his voice filled with venomous rage. "WELL, THEN CONSIDER YOURSELVES LUCKY! BECAUSE NONE OF YOU ARE MAKING IT OUT ALIVE!"
"Everyone, run!" Jean shouted hoarsely, trying to rally them, but his voice was cut short.
Gunshot.
The bullet tore through his calf, and he crumpled to the ground with a strangled yell. Tears streamed down his face as he clawed at his leg, his cries of agony growing louder with every passing second. His fingers trembled as blood seeped between them, pooling beneath his body.
"JEAN!" Armin screamed, his eyes wide with horror. His gaze shot to the leader, who wore a twisted smirk as he raised his weapon again.
"Well then," the man drawled, relishing their terror. His dark eyes scanned the trembling group, finally landing on one of the female cadets. She was crying uncontrollably, her entire frame shaking like a leaf.
"Shut her up" he sneered.
The gun leveled at her.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A barrage of bullets ripped through her small frame, each shot sending her body jerking backward until she crumpled onto the dirt. Blood poured from her lifeless form, staining the earth beneath her. The cadets froze in collective shock, unable to react. The sheer speed of it all paralyzed them.
The remaining girls—except for Mikasa, Ymir, and Christa—collapsed to their knees, their sobs wracking their bodies. Their voices overlapped with pleas for mercy, desperate cries to be spared. "Please, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
The leader laughed cruelly, his gun still smoking. His men advanced, their weapons raised, casting dark shadows over the terrified group as the rising sun struggled to pierce through the dense forest. The air hung heavy with despair, and the once-lively forest was filled only with the sound of weeping and gunfire's sharp echo.
While some clenched their fists, determined to fight even if it meant their end, the grim reality was clear in their trembling forms. They were outmatched. The forest, dense and oppressive, seemed to mock their resolve. Shadows stretched across the forest floor as the sun's early light barely pierced the canopy, casting an eerie glow over the chaos.
"Hahahaha..." The man's guttural laughter shattered the fragile silence, his voice heavy with sadistic amusement. He turned his attention to Mikasa, whose battered figure stood at a distance, her blades gripped tightly despite the bruises decorating her arms and face.
"What happened to your bravery, huh?" he sneered, his words venomous as his gaze lingered on her. "You all know how to bark. But you know what? I'm feeling generous. I'll spare each one of you—on one condition."
He stepped forward, his boots crunching on fallen leaves and twigs, a predator cornering his prey. "Tell me," he said, his voice calm yet chilling, "who led you here? Who's your leader?"
The question hung in the air like a death sentence. Fear rippled through the group as the female cadets exchanged terrified glances, their blurred vision betraying their inner turmoil. Then, one by one, trembling fingers pointed—nine in total—all aimed in one direction.
Straight at Mikasa Ackerman.