Spotter

Lurking in the Shadows

***I want to give a very clear trigger warning before we get to this chapter. My work is spoiler free and will never include ANY sexual assault. With that being said, there is a man in this chapter that is harassing/intimidating Y/N. There is absolutely no assault, but the man is purposefully written to be a creep. If that isn't something you're comfortable with, feel free to skip this chapter. There will be some brief explanations of what happens in the next chapter, so you won't miss any plot-important details.***

Now that that's out of the way, we're finally getting to the meat of the story, and I'm so excited about it. This is definitely a more serious chapter, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.

-Parks 🖤

Y/N pushed her magnifying glasses up with her shoulder for the third time in an hour. The headband was stretched out, so the heavy lenses slowly slipped down her head.

How does Hange wear glasses every day?

With the thick lenses in place, she leaned back into the titan thigh she was dissecting. Her hands felt clammy in the black rubber gloves that reached up to her elbows. She had a tight grip on the scalpel as she cut deeper to the muscle.

The thigh had been severed from a titan that got too close to the wall. It was about three feet in length, and the knee was still attached. Y/N had technically requested the hip to be attached as well, but she would take what she could get.

Y/N hated working with something so similar to a human, but she had been tasked with researching the skeletal muscles of a titan. Specifically, she was looking to pinpoint the weak spots, so that Scouts could immobilize titans in the most efficient way possible. If they can teach Scouts where to slice to sever the muscles, then they would save time and blades.

She held back her gag as she cut down the muscle membrane to reveal the fibers underneath.

I miss plants.

"L/N?"

Y/N jumped at the unfamiliar voice behind her. She whipped around, careful to keep the scalpel near the titan. The face she found was stretched and distorted through the magnifiers. Using her shoulder again, Y/N pushed the lenses up to her forehead.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted. The blurry mass took the shape of a tall, lanky man. His brown hair was cut short to his scalp, and he wore round glasses over his brown eyes.

Why is he smiling like that? Y/N thought, then remembered he had asked her a question.

"Yes?"

"Sorry for startling you," he smiled wider. "I was wondering if you could point me to Section Commander Hange."

"Oh, uhm, it's okay. You're in the laboratory now, but if you go down the hall, Hange's office is on the right."

Y/N stood between the severed limb and the stranger, and she couldn't tell which was making her more uncomfortable.

"Thank you. I'm Officer Ryker, the MP liaison."

His smile felt sickly sweet, but he hadn't done anything rude, so Y/N continued being polite.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N L/N."

"Right," he switched to a closed mouth smile.

Y/N waited for him to leave, but he continued staring at her.

"Okay, well... I should get back to work." Y/N tried to prod him along.

"Of course," Ryker said. He turned and left the room.

Y/N scolded herself for not hearing him come in, then went back to the muscles.

~

The next day, Y/N looked up from the muscle fibers every time she heard a door open. Her reactions weren't limited to the door of the exam room she was in. She paused even when she heard a door open somewhere in the lab. This paranoia lasted until the afternoon. By then, he still hadn't shown up again.