Caught Between Worlds (Eren x Reader)

Chapter Six

The massive bell continues to ring as we all sit on our horses in formation in front of the gate. Tension fills the air, the new recruits jittery in their saddles. Looking ahead, I spot Jean's ashy hair sweeping along in the wind. I can also see Armin and Reiner in his unit as well. Eren and I sit in the very centre of the formation. Levi's Squad surrounds us, creating a wall to keep us from harm.

All of us startle a bit from the announcement one of the Scouts make, pulling us out of our inner thoughts. "Titans in the vicinity have been lured away! Gate opens in 30 seconds!"

Battle cries reign out as a speech is given. Chains slam together, the harsh sound of rock rubbing against each other following it. The ground rumbles beneath us as the gate slowly opens. A wisp of air snaps all of us into action. Hoshi trots forward, picking up into a canter, and then a gallop. The gate swoops over our heads. Within the shadow of it, the familiar feeling of faintness washes over me.

We pass through the broken town just outside of the walls. Dust fills the air from the horses' hooves. The dust cloud is heavier due to the massive number of soldiers we have now. The thundering of titan feet come our way. A massive 10 metre walks into sight with a belly like a mountain. The Support Squad jump into action and fend it off as we pass by. We near uninterrupted titan territory. The time is coming where we will lose our cover and disperse, just like Gunther explained the other day.

We reach the end of the town, flat grassy plains ahead of us. The horses ahead of us begin to split and Levi's Squad takes their own route. I take a deep breath in, preparing myself for what's to come. Titans are unpredictable. Even though we are safe for the moment, there is still much more to come.

Glancing over to Eren, I notice sweat trickling down his forehead. His breathing is quick but he tries to hide his anxiety. He catches me staring and his lips purse together, a determined expression hiding his fears.

Some more time passes as we ride in silence. The sound of smoke signals carry on along the open terrain. Several green ones come into sight that catch Levi's attention. Oluo responds to them with his own smoke signal. A massive aura of unrest sweeps along with the heavy wind at our faces. Despite the green smoke signals, I worry this is only how it looks on our end. I look to Eren and realise that he's thinking the same way.

Somewhere in one of the squads, something is going catastrophically wrong.

"Reporting, Sir!" A corps member rides up beside Levi in the front. His body is drenched with sweat, a grave look written on his face. "Oral message! It appears the right wing spotters have been wiped out! The early warning network is compromised! One of you will need to relay the message down the line!"

Levi glances back at Petra. "You heard the man, Petra! Go on!"

"Sir!" She pulls away from us on her white stallion.

Our worries are unfortunately deemed to be correct. Sweat forms in the palms of my hands. Armin was in that rank which means he was wiped out as well. "And Jean..." My body trembles at the thought. I quickly shake my head, throwing the thoughts away. "He's alive! They both are!"

Black smoke catches our attention on our right side. The line of trees hide what's going on on the other side. Eren fires a signal in response. Levi mutters to himself as he watches the distant smoke signals go off. Ahead of us, a massive colossal forest rests at the end of the plains. The harsh sun is cut off and we move under a serious shade as we enter it. Any darker and we would need a torch.

"Captain Levi!" Eren calls out. His face is stricken with worry again. "Come on, Sir! We're in a forest! We won't see a titan until it's right on top of us!" His horse's pace slows down as he begins to grow more and more worried. "Something's coming up on our right, isn't it? So what are we supposed to do!? Avoid titans or defend the wagons!?"