Another Story: After Autumn (Attack on Titan AU)

Someone she loved

His vision blurred.

What was supposed to be a few seconds felt like eternity as Erwin laid on the wet grass, ticklish pricks pushing into his skin. Somewhere around his elbow, he vaguely felt something stinging. His back was sore after roughly landing on the grass beside the road, and he had to heave in heavy breaths after wind had been knocked out of his lungs.

Something was ringing in his ear, as if an explosion had blown off nearby and messed with his hearing.

It took a while for Erwin to get his bearings back, his mind still whirring as it tried to keep up with what just happened.

Rain. It was still storming, he realized, when his vision slowly regained its focus and he found himself squinting at the darkened sky. Large drops of water rained on him, unrelenting. He tried to move his arm to shield his face, only realizing it felt numb. Then he realized his foot was also throbbing. Had he sprained it when he fell?

Blazing headlights. Screeching tires. Blaring horns.

A clanging crash, loud and clear amidst the storm.

Like a snap of a finger, it all came back to him.

With newfound strength that was most likely adrenaline, Erwin forced himself to sit up, grunting like a thousand bricks had been stacked on top of him. The mud had clung to his shirt, drenching it with dirt and water and only adding to the heaviness. His neck was sore, and he wondered if he hit his head somewhere when he landed on the grass and rolled from the impact.

But, that was the least of his concern.

The last thing Erwin remembered before momentarily losing focus had been Isanna pushing him out of the way. Even when already drenched in rainwater, an instant cold washed over him.

Erwin felt the dread building up in his stomach as he frantically scanned the road where he had been pushed out of, and sure enough, he saw it.

The semi-truck had stopped in the middle of the road. Its headlights were still on, lighting the road and—

No.

A ghost of something came over him. Never taking his eyes off the road, Erwin forced himself to stand, ignoring the screaming of his arm and leg.

No.

He limped his way towards the middle of the road, faintly aware of the rising beating in his chest. He didn't blink—couldn't—afraid that a split-second would prove to him that he wasn't in a dream.

Except, he really wasn't, and no amount of prayer could turn back what had happened.

"Isanna.." Her name involuntarily left his lips as Erwin dropped to his knees beside her figure, a trembling hand reaching for her. A mixture of disbelief and shock painted his expression.

A voice in the back of his mind told him he shouldn't move her to avoid complicating whatever injuries she had sustained. That still, rational voice he always had in whatever situation was instructing him to call for help, dial an ambulance—

But when it finally dawned on him what really happened, that Isanna was here before him, lying on the road, unmoving and unconscious—he could no longer hear that rational voice.

A shuddering breath left him, and Erwin felt all his strength dissipate.

"Isanna." He could barely hear his own voice in the loud downpour. His entire body trembled, uncontrollably. Fear suddenly seized him like an iron grip. He had never known fear like this.