A Different Sky (A Levi Ackerman Story)

Decisions

Verena's POV

          The sun beams down on us as we race across the grass, the castle shrinking in the distance behind us. My hands grip the reins as I ride beside Erwin. Commander Shadis glances back at him and nods. "Now," he tells him.

          Erwin nods and throws his arm out, signaling to the other soldiers. "All Squads, execute the long distance scouting formation!" At that moment, every squad around us begins to veer off in different directions, heading farther and farther away. We continue heading straight as the rest of the unit disperses. I look over at Flagon as he leads the squad off to the right. He looks at me, and I can see a brief expression of nervousness on his face. I smile at him and mouth 'Good luck'. He nods and mouths back 'Good luck to you too'. Then, he races off, never giving me a second glance.

          "He'll be alright!"

          I turn to Erwin and give him a bewildered look.

          "Flagon...He'll be alright!"

          I nod and mumble, "Yeah, that's not who I'm worried about."

          I think about Levi, his friends, and Sayram. Levi and his friends may be skilled, but if too many titans appear...Well, I don't know what will happen. They're not trained soldiers, and even Sayram is fairly new. This is his first expedition. If they were attacked by too many titans, there's a very good chance they could all be killed.

          I am so deep in thought that I barely hear Erwin when he calls to me, "Red flare signal confirmed!" With a jolt, I am brought back to reality. My eyes scan the horizon, and I see the two plumes of red smoke billowing into the air on my right. Pulling out the flare gun, I prepare a green flare.

          "Roger! Preparing green!" I respond.

          "Let's shift to the left," Erwin tells me.

          Nodding, I mumble, "Right. To the left." Raising the flare gun into the air, I angle it towards the left and pull the trigger. A large plume of green smoke shoots into the air, pointing towards our left flank. A few moments later, another two other green flares are shot off, then two more, then two more- until finally, the entire battalion has received and passed on the signal. I look over at Erwin and smile as we shift our course, following the direction of the flares. "It's working!" I exclaim happily.

          "Yes, for now it is." He looks around at the plumes of green smoke warily, and I wonder what has him troubled.

          In the course of a half hour, we have changed direction fourteen times. We make our way back towards the wall at a gallop, using the formation Erwin came up with. So far, it's working brilliantly.

          I keep my eyes locked on the vast expanse of green ahead, determined to make it home without any incidents. Suddenly, I hear a low rumble. My heart begins to pound, and I glance around, but there are no titans in sight. There's another low rumbling, and I glance up at the sky.

          "Erwin...Do you see that?" I ask, my eyes widening.

          He looks up at the sky, and his blue eyes narrow slightly. "Yes...Storm clouds are gathering."

          Commander Shadis, overhearing us, looks up and grimaces. Above us, the sky is growing darker as thick, black clouds roll in, threatening rain. A hush seems to fall over us as we stare the impending doom in the face. Within a few moments, the sky lets loose a torrent of rain, unleashing hell of the battalion. Raindrops pelt the earth as we ride. As the rain pounds down on us, a thick fog begins to form.