The Cadet's Origin

Chapter Thirty Two - Almost There

"Come on, you useless maggots!" Shadis yelled at them. "My grandmother moves faster than that and she's in the grave!"

Kenna ignored Shadis's yells. She just kept pushing her body past the breaking point. Kenna's legs and lungs were burning. She glanced to her left and right and saw that her comrades were in the same boat as her. Well, everyone except Mikasa. Kenna was half-way convinced that nothing could shake her. They were coming up on the final marker. Kenna ran past it. She slowed it a light jog, but didn't stop entirely. If she did, she wasn't sure that she would ever get back up again.

After a few minutes of jogging a few circles, Kenna finally stopped. When she did, she felt her legs wobble just a little but she stayed standing tall. Kenna tucked her hair back behind her ears as she walked over to her friends. It was a bit hard to spot them in the crowd of cadets, but she managed to snag the sight of Bertolt and Reiner towering over everyone. Kenna walked up to them. While they didn't look phased to strangers, Kenna could see the look of pure exhaustion in their eyes.

"Nice to see that you two haven't dropped dead yet," Kenna said as she wrapped her arms around Reiner from behind. She rested her cheek on his back.

"It's going to take a lot more than Shadis to kill us," Reiner laughed as he grabbed her and brought her around to his front. "You look a little more tired than usual, Wildfire. Are you starting to lose your touch?"

"No," Kenna chuckled as Reiner squeezed her.

"Stop it," Bertolt said. "You two remember what happened to the couple they found in the rec cabin last week."

"Somebody jealous?" Reiner teased as he let go of Kenna.

"No," Bertolt shook his head. "I would just rather not see your guy's head on a pike."

"In formation!" Shadis yelled at them. Everyone formed their lines and stood at the ready. Shadis walked up and down the lines and glared at them. "Did you all like your break? Are you enjoying the fact that you're doing nothing at this exact moment?" Kenna wanted to groan, but kept a straight face. She knew where this was going and it would just led to running. A lot more running. "Well, when you're in the field having Titans chase you down, there are no breaks. If you stop, you die. So, we're running back to camp today." No one moved for a moment. "GO!"

Kenna started running without hesitation. She made her way back along the markers that she came from. The run had taken her around three hours on the way there. Kenna hoped that she would be able to make it back just a little bit faster. Kenna wanted to let her mind go blank and just let her body take over, but there was something, or rather someone, trying to get her attention.

"Kenna," Reiner ran up next to her.

"Yes, Reiner," Kenna said. She kept her eyes in front of her. She couldn't help but smile though. Every single time that Reiner was around her, she couldn't help but smile.

"Meet me by the trees tonight," Reiner said. "After we hang out with our friends in the rec hall."

"And get skinned alive by Shadis?" Kenna looked over at him with wide eyes. "You heard what he said last week. Boys and girls aren't allowed to be anywhere alone except the training ground, rec cabin, or dining cabin without adult supervision."

"We'll only be in trouble if we get caught," Reiner flashed her a grin. Kenna was pretty sure Reiner lived his entire life daring someone to prove him wrong.

"And what if we do?" Kenna asked. "Between my red hair and you just be a walking giant, there's no way we get out of trouble."

"Losing your sense of adventure, Wildfire?" Reiner asked with a raised eyebrow. Kenna didn't answer. She just stared him down. "I will handle it if something does happen, Kenna."