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THE EVACUATION HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL, the population safely pulled behind the walls.
But the grim silence that followed held a terrible truth: no one had fallen to the Titans…except the soldiers who had faced them.
The ones who had been sent, knowing full well the bleak odds they faced, to buy time for others to survive.
Inside the gas supply room, the air was thick with tension.
Fear clung to the walls as three soldiers stood, visibly shaken, in front of Commander Woermann.
"Wait, Heichou! If the Titans attack, We supply troops won't be able to protect this place alone," one of the Garrison soldiers pleaded, desperation sharpening his voice.
The echo of his words seemed to settle like a heavy fog, but Woermann's eyes flared with indignation as he waved them aside.
"Out of the way!" he barked, though his voice held a faint tremor, betraying the terror lurking beneath his stern exterior. "I must organize the reinforcement squads."
The soldiers flinched, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Within the inner gate, where it's safe?" The question from one of them hit like a slap, and the young soldier's gaze bore into Woermann's, unyielding, filled with an accusation Woermann was unwilling to face.
"What are you trying to say? This is our procedure!" Woermann spat, his voice cracking under pressure. "It's our duty as soldiers to follow the procedure!"
"But… if this place falls—" The girl soldier's voice was fragile, a hint of the dread flooding her mind.
"Silence!" Woermann’s voice cracked through the room as he pointed his blade at her, fear twisting his features.
"Another word, and I'll be forced to deem you traitors and punish you right here!" His face was drawn and ashen, his own fear laid bare.
They knew he was terrified. They all were.
*****
Outside, Mikasa leaped across rooftops, the silence around the headquarters thick and unnatural.
Her thoughts spun as she scanned the empty walls. "I heard the bell. It's a temporary retreat," she thought, a knot of suspicion twisting in her gut.
![[A BROKEN BLADE ~]](https://img.wattpad.com/8686e8ccc37b29c90089bde44eee3ba3748bcdbb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f37374455516e5961496e307577773d3d2d35372e313830663432643534646239656261323333363939333435343933332e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720)
