Souls Of Sorrow || 𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝐽𝑎𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑋 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

Chapter 17 - You

-Stohess-

I watch from the rooftops as Eren, Mikasa, and Armin follow behind Annie in the street below.

The carriage with the Commander and Jean inside is a few blocks away down another road. I'm stationed on top of a building in between both for a better vantage point, along with my father and Hange.

"They're nearing the tunnel," Hange whispers, nudging me with her elbow.
"I know, we're looking at the same thing Hange." I murmur back.

"Right." she nods, though clearly not paying any attention to me. Her focus is on Annie and the testing she can do on her once captured. There are a number of civilians who volunteered to help rid Stohess of the female titan hiding in alleys, waiting for a chance to take her down.

I watch as the four soldiers near the underground tunnel. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin all head down the steps, but Annie doesn't follow.

I can see them conversing but I'm much too high up to hear any of it. From the looks of it I was right, Annie is definitely suspicious of the barren streets.

"Keep up your guard." My father whispers loudly to the surrounding soldiers on the nearby roofs. They nod, their silent chorus of 'yes sir' recognizable.

A gust of wind blows strongly, stirring up dry leaves and dirt clouds in the street. A feeling of dread settles within me, a chill creeping slowly up my spine. "Captain-"
"I know, I feel it too." he replies before I can say another word.

Eren yells something from inside the tunnel, the closed space echoing the sound loudly. "Annie, please! You've taken this too far now. Just walk down these steps and show us we're wrong to accuse you!"

After a moment a sound of laughter can be heard ringing in the street. Annie's laughter. Something's wrong.

A flare shoots out from the tunnel, the citizens of Stohess immediately running towards Annie, grabbing hold of her to keep her from transforming.

Apparently Annie is much more skillful than anticipated. Despite the people holding her down she manages to cut herself somehow, a blast of yellow light igniting upwards where Annie once stood.

In her place is the female titan, standing tall among the dead bodies of civilians.

She bends down and starts reaching into the tunnel, no doubt going after Eren again. She grunts in frustration and smashes the tunnel in with her foot.

"We have to do something." I knit my brows anxiously and look over to my father in question. He's staring at the scene without a twitch of a muscle, despite the people laying dead below.

"Not now," he says. "Smashing in the ceiling could have killed Eren. She's desperate, that makes her dangerous."

"We can't sit here and do nothing, they're still down there, she'll crush all of them." I urge him to hurry up.
"Patience kiddo. If she senses we're going to attack, her skin will harden and we can't get to her." he tells me.

I exhale slowly, "I know."
"Your friends will be okay." he assures me.

"And so will your boyfriend." Hange whispers low enough that my father doesn't hear. I shoot her a glare telling her to shut up. "Come on. This is a serious situation."

She nods gravely, "deadly serious. That's why I'm telling you he'll be alright."

I let up my glare, realizing she's really just trying to assure me. "He isn't my boyfriend," I grumble as I turn back to the scene in front of me.

The female titan brings her foot down on the tunnel again, dust and debris spraying in every direction. Two cloaked figures emerge from the tunnel, Annie grabs one of them but they cut up her hand from inside, slicing off her fingers. That must be Mikasa.