The Killer Butterfly - an Attack on Titan Story

Chapter 5 - The Rite of Passage

Year 843

Before first light Amelia woke up. Some girls were already up and getting ready, but most were still fast asleep. Amelia got up and was greeted by Millicent Schmidt, a girl with brunette hair and brown eyes. She got ready for the day, wondering about the so called 'Rite of Passage', and it was obvious Millicent was also pondering the topic, because she asked Amelia, 

"Do you have any idea what the 'Right of Passage is?' I was awake nearly all night thinking about it."

Amelia looked over and answered, "No I don't, sorry Millicent. But how did you stay awake for so long and be so energised this morning?"

Millicent laughed, then said, "Call me Millie. And honestly I have no idea. But my family call me a night owl, since I can never go to sleep easily."

Amelia was feeling more and more at ease every moment she chatted with Millie. She felt that if these new friendships withstood, she do anything. That was how she felt with Ella. Unstoppable, and that was probably why the two of them got kind of hyper when they were with each other if they weren't careful.

Not that long after, the sun was beginning to rise, and that meant the 'Rite of Passage' would begin soon, so Amelia had to wake Hitch up. It wasn't a easy task. Hitch was so asleep that Amelia had to shake her before she opened her eyes. Reluctantly, she got up, but it took a few minutes, so Amelia, Hitch and Millie, who decided to stay to help Amelia get Hitch up, were the last ones out of their cabin. When they finally left, cadets were milling around the area were they stood the night before, but this time in their uniforms.

"CADETS! LINE UP IN 15 LINES, 14 PEOPLE EACH." Amelia, as well as the other cadets, turned. Commander Meijer was walking towards them, a fiery look in her eyes as she observed the crowd of kids scurrying around to make the lines. When they finished, she starting walking along the lines of cadets, and unfortunately, Amelia, Hitch and Millie were right at the front, and therefore got the full force of the terrifying Commander. 

"You!" She stopped in front of Amelia and asked, "Cadet, what is your name, where are you from, and why are you here?" She was yelling, and Amelia was intimidated.

She took a deep breath, saluted, and answered. "Amelia Springer, Ragako Village, south of Wall Rose! I..." She trailed off, took another  deep breath, and continued, "I want to see the world beyond the walls!" 

Commander Meijer looked into Amelia's eyes. She was an empath, and read the emotions in her eyes like a book. "You'll need more than a childish dream to survive here. Especially if you want to survive in the Survey Corps."

Amelia nodded, and the commander moved onto Hitch. Her answer wasn't accepted very well by the commander. Nor was any of the answers given by the cadets who just wanted to get into the Military Police and live a easy life. Millie, said she wasn't sure yet, and the commander looked her in the eyes and then moved on.

Commander Meijer yelled at most of the cadets. Others she stared into their soul. It was truly an unnerving experience.

After the 'Rite of Passage', the cadets were split up into 15 classes of 14 people. They were done off the lines that they stood in, and Amelia was in a class with Hitch, Millie, another girl from their cabin that Millie was friends with, 2 other girls from another cabin, and 8 guys. They were told that this was the class that they would be with for the entire 3 years they were in training. Nearly everyone in the class seemed nice from first glance, at least one did look like a jerk though. 

They were given the rest of the morning to 'talk' with their class, and then they had a lesson on ODM Gear in the afternoon.

The group found a place outside the dining hall, and exchanged childhood stories. There was one guy that caught Amelia's eye particularly. He had reddish brown hair and gray eyes, and was kind and funny. Millie seemed to take a liking to him the most.

Amelia somehow managed to keep track of everyone. How she did it, she didn't know. She was good with faces, but sometimes she forgot the names that went with them.

In the afternoon class, they learnt about ODM Gear. There was all kinds of random things that were crucial to staying stable, such as always moving a little bit to keep balance. 

The lesson went all afternoon. Hitch started to fall asleep. Even Amelia was staring blankly into space by the end of it. But, they did learn many important things about ODM Gear, and were given their own harness.

"Tomorrow," said the instructor, "everyone will be having a go with their harnesses. You won't be given the full set of gear until you master these, though." He pointed to a machine that was used to replicate ODM Gear while they were learning how to use it.

When he dismissed the class, the cadets ran out of the classroom. One guy jumped over the tables. Amelia walked. By the time she got to the door, all of the cadets were running around outside. Amelia, Hitch and Millie walked to their cabin and changed clothes for dinner.

The food was exactly the same as the night before, stew and bread. But this time, there was two newcomers at their table. Millie, and the guy with reddish brown hair from their class. His name was Noa, and whenever he would turn his attention to Millie, she would blush. Amelia and Hitch looked at each other, and their eyes said to one another, "We need to get these two together."

That night lying in bed, Amelia thought about the new friends she was making. She now had three. Hitch, Millie, and Noa, as well as their classmates. She was eager for the next day to come, when they attempted the ODM Gear for the first time. Her thoughts then went to Ella. She hoped she wasn't too stuck on Amelia to make new friends.

Authors Notes

I finally found the motivation to write another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but last week I was skiing and couldn't find the time to write. If there's any mistakes, sorry! I'm really tired right now. That's really it. Thanks for reading, bye!