Our Garden of Dismay

Part 8

The late morning air rushes through my hair and carried a pleasant natural scent. We weren't given any specific orders but how are we supposed to just sit around when we can see several distress signals. After a long period of running along the top of the wall, we find it odd that we haven't found a single group of Cadets. Our entire class was ordered to complete similar duties upon the walls so how come we haven't seen a single other person from our class?

"If we have to go into combat it's probably best if we split into squads."

Engel says from the front of the pack.

"Yeah but we don't have the supplies to fight, we weren't supposed to enter combat so we just have gas and one pair of blades."

I respond, my voice is deafeningly shaky as I am having trouble keeping my composure together.

"Shit, alright, everyone stop for a minute."

Engel commands and all of us come to a sudden halt.

"Jean-Paul, Koch, and Zimmerman come with me to get supplies and we will go to the eastern signals. Fischer, Buchanan, and Sereno go look for another member to complete your squad. Then find supplies and head to the western signals, I am designating Buchanan in charge of your squad."

Engel delegates with expertise, we all stay stunned at his sudden leadership.

"And who chose you to be in charge?"

Jean-Paul asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you see anyone else with the guts to give orders? Didn't think so, come one guys move out."

His response is swift and cold and soon enough we leave in our squads. On our sprint eastward, we stop by a large wooden supply cache that has blades, flare guns, and flares. It has a steel gas container but we are already at full gas so we leave it behind. When we reach the flares, the sight is bone-chilling; several Garrison soldiers dance like flies around numerous Titans between the seven and thirteen-meter range. Above Cadets operate the canons and fire downwards at the what must be twenty strong horde. The smell in the air rapidly changed from fresh and natural to reeking of gunpowder and blood. We run up to the Cadets at the canons and spot some people we know.

"Hey! Osborn, what the hell is going on?"

Engel asks, his loud shouting barely audible over the canon fire.

"Engel? These Titans just started leaving the wall and when we came to investigate some Garrison soldiers ordered us to fire at them while they try to kill them up close."

Osborn then turns to three squadmates of his who are rapidly loading a canon and he orders them to keep firing.

"Okay, we're going in, keep up the covering fire."

Engel responds cooly, but I immediately grab his shoulder.

"What do you mean, 'we're going in'? Bullshit, I don't wanna go down there!"

I turn to Jean-Paul and Dietrich for backup but they both have their blades drawn and a look of determination. I swallow the lump in my throat and draw my blades as well, I close my eyes and say a quick prayer before walking to the outward edge.

"Squad Engel, charge!"

And with our leader's war cry, all four of us leap off and then anchor onto the wall to swing us downwards slowly. The plains outside of the walls are just roaming hills with a decent spread of massive trees like at our training camp. The Garrison soldiers seem to use the trees to move between targets and then use the Titan themselves as the main anchor point during their attack. They latch on and strafe around, taking turns slicing at limbs to weaken them before attacking the nape. Engel then leaps from the wall while reeling in his anchors in one swift movement to propel him off the wall at an incredible speed, we all mirror and it goes relatively successful. As we near the Titan that Engel is targeting, the horror of these creatures finally sets in. It's horrendously disproportionate, yet looks believably to be a human. It has a far larger than normal jaw with teeth in the far dozens, it turns and looks at us with eyes that resemble a human's but lack the soul within them. It must be about nine meters tall, not super huge compared to others, but still a daunting task. Engel immediately hooks onto its left leg and swoops down, the Titan vainly swiping in an attempt to grab him. Engel, in a sweeping motion, chops out a segment of the back of its heel(roughly where the Achilles tendon would be) and then pops back up into the air over it. Jean-Paul then swoops in as the Titan is busy looking up at Engel, she does one quick slice across its hand, chopping off all five fingers on the upward reaching hand. Dietrich and I share one last look before he dives down and prepares to slice at its eyes. Dietrich winds up his swing and right before he can unleash it, the Titan does a short hop and chomps at him with its large maw; Dietrich quickly flips forward and lets out a liberal amount of gas to propel him up and away in a mid-air somersault. With the Titan fully distracted by my three squadmates, I swoop in towards its nape and at a high-speed chop at the skin. After I slice, I anchor onto its head and begin strafing, but to my dismay, the slice wasn't deep enough. The Titan turns to me and reaches with its other hand, it shows me a wickedly empty smile. At the site of every injury it's sustained, steam is rising slowly from the bloody wound, and when I accidentally fly through it, the steam is searing hot and even gives me a slight burn on my right hand. Jean-Paul then does a diving attack and chops out a significant amount of flesh on its nape, successfully killing the beast.