T/W - reminder that this arc contains strong gore and violence.
-Northern Zone 1 [09:59]-
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The explosive sound of shotgun shells rattled throughout Garrison HQ, as chaos swept through the entire building like a wildfire. Shells were being fired off without hesitation, as blood was being spilled all over the walls.
Khye and Mikasa were still engaged with the Garrison rebels, firing off shot after shot, trying to hold them back. Lieutenant Annika had escaped the bloodbath, leaving the cadets and the rebels to fight amongst each another.
"Jean!" Khye screamed taking cover behind a wall. He then threw his friend a set of ODM gear he scavenged off a dead Garrison soldier. "Take it and get out of here with Morgan! She's too shaken to fight!"
"But what about you-"
"We'll be fine," Khye assured, firmly nodding at him. "You two get out of here - Mikasa and I will catch up with you soon."
"...You better."
Jean loosely strapped the ODM gear to his waist and then immediately dashed over to the silver-haired girl. Without hesitation, he swept her up into his arms, holding her bridal-style.
Morgan's hair hung limply over her face which was splattered with blood. Jean carefully parted her strands just enough to see her expression - blank, empty, and stale. She sat silently in his arms, torment flooding through her head.
"There's a window down the hallway!" Mikasa called out whilst reloading her shotgun shells. "First one on the left."
Before Jean ran, he handed Mikasa a flare gun. "Shoot a green glare up if you're okay. Fire the red flare if you need help."
The boy from Trost sprinted down the hallway of the Garrison base, carefully holding the girl from Shiganshina in his arms. It did not take long for the deafening sound of shotgun shells going off to resume behind him, rattling his ears.
Mikasa... Khye... don't you dare die on us. We're counting on you two.
He leapt towards window, smashing through the thin glass and landed atop a roof. Carefully cushioning the girl in his arms from the fall, he did not waste any time and started pacing away from the Garrison base.
"Morgan... I'm not sure if you can hear me right now, but we're retreating back to Trost HQ."
Morgan heard Jean's words, but they went through one ear and out the other. The world around her felt muffled, like she was slowly falling underwater. All she could see was the horrid sight of Mina's facial remains - icky, gory, and messy. The image was scorched into her head, stuck in the forefront of her mind.
Is... it my fault again? Everywhere I go, people get hurt. The thought gnawed and scratched at her, relentlessly persisting.
Mina's last moments replayed with terrifying clarity in Morgan's head - the way her head exploded, the immediate collapse of her body, and and remains of her body. And so, she clenched her teeth instinctively, holding back her tears. She felt numb, and lost in a hurricane of a million of negative thoughts.
