The Trainee

Chapter nine

After about fifteen minutes we were all ushered back into the room to continue with whatever this whole fiasco was. Upon reentry, You noticed that Mr. Dok had decided to leave. Goodbye and good riddance. In fact, a majority of the people who had been in the first half of the meeting left. You take your seat and see that Mr. Dok's place was taken by a new person. The tall blond man from earlier. He extended a hand over the table.

"Sorry about the paper mixup." He smiled shaking my hand. "Nile and I are old friends and it has been a running joke."

You said nothing as he organized himself. "As you know by now this is a recruitment meeting. Personally I opted for having you meet us in our offices but the others said that would cause too much of a ruckus." He stopped and smiled at me.

"And where are my manners. My name is Erwin smith. I am the commander of the scouting legion." This was the faction Armin, Samson, and the corporal were apart of. His smile looked sincere and that's what was scary.

"Well you already know who I am." You said in place of your own introduction.

"I do, I do." He continued warmly. "Now I'm going to skip over the glorifying speech and get to the point." Good start. I'm liking him more already. "The scouting legion is the most dangerous of the three military groups. We go outside the walls and battle titans on a regular basis. This action results in high death tolls, but it expands humanity's knowledge of the enemy."

He continued listing off achievements that the legion has made such as Titan capturing and land reclaiming. "I know this is a lot of information to take in all at once, but if you are interested in joining us, let me know at anytime."

After saying a quick goodbye, Commander Smith let himself out. An older man somewhere in the room dismissed the rest of the crowd and you were lead to a suit like room.

"You'll be staying here until your decision is made." The guard escorting you said. "Your things will arrive by evening."

After they left you took a moment to look around. At least you could see the sunset from where you were.

<><><><><>

The days following the meeting were bland to say the least. All of your meals were brought to you due to rumored assassination plots if you were to return to the trainee mess hall. Just as the room began to feel like a prison instead of a safety measure, there was a knock on your window. Surprised, you opened it and saw two masked faces.

"Who the hell-"

"Shhhh!" Came a familiar voice. "It's me and Armin." Samson pulled back some of the black cloth that covered his face. "We came to break you out."

"You know I knew you were an idiot but I didn't know it was this bad." You turn to Armin who had also removed a portion of his disguise. "And how did he convince you to go along with this?"

"It was my idea originally." He smiled. There was silence between the three of you until you realized something rather important.

"Guys." You began cautiously. "This is the fourth floor. How did you get up here?"

"3dmg of course." Samson said showing a piece of the equipment.

"Ok. How did you expect to get me out?" You crossed your arms in an effort to look stern.

"Seeing as you only weigh about 55 kilos, we were just gonna carry you." The tone of Samson's voice made it seem as if it was the only logical option. "And I hate to rush you but you have about a minute and a half to make your choice."

"And the weight limit on these things are?"

"About 300 kg." he said checking his watch. "You'll be fine. 45 seconds."

You grunt and look around the room. "Is there anything I need?"

<><><><>

After ditching the gear for later, the boys lead you to the stables.

"I guess we should tell you now that we have some uninvited guests." Armin whispered. "But don't worry. They're nice." As you round the corner of the stables you see Leigh and two other people grinning mischievously. "[f/n], this is Connie and Sasha."

"Nice to finally meet you [f/n]." Connie tried to whisper. "I was gonna meet you a few days ago but then-" he doesn't finish because Armin grabs him and pulls him away.

"I've heard interesting things about you." The one named Sasha said smiling.

"Oi, we'll have time to chit chat later." Samson interrupted. "Did you three get the stuff?"

"I am insulted that you thought we couldn't." Leigh grumbled. At that moment three horses were lead from the shadow of the stable. "If we took anymore someone would notice. I think we can manage doubling up though."

Samson shook his head. "Your thirst is unquenchable isn't it?" Leigh said nothing but flipped him the finger. "What about you two?"

Sasha and Connie, with matching smiles, each produce a basket seemingly from thin air.

"Ok good. Now let's get out of here."

<><><><>

After clearing the compound gates, the six of you doubled up on the horses and made your way into the mountain. You were riding with Samson and even though you were happy to be outside, you still didn't know where you were going.

"We're going on a bit of a picnic." Armin, who was riding with Leigh explained.

"My idea was to take you into town but SOMEBODY thought we'd get caught." And by somebody he meant Armin who was probably right. The group didn't exactly scream 'stealth'.

Once you all got up into the forest, Connie and Sasha became more and more boisterous and several times you found yourself laughing. Finally the crew came to a stop in a clearing.

"Welcome to lake Pinewood. The prettiest place outside the interior." Samson said as he helped you dismount. As you looked around, you could see the lake through the trees and it was so still it seemed made of glass. It was beautiful. "So our plan," Samson began, "was to have a little bonfire now, and go into town when you've been released."

"You make it sound like she's in prison." Connie said uncorking a bottle of some sort. You watched as he poured a bit over some sticks and Sasha lit a match and tossed it in. 'Resourceful.' You thought as the pile burst into flames.

"Remember what they did to Eren?" You turn and see Armin with a basin of water.

"Eren's different." Connie protested. "He's erratic at best and highly unpredictable."

Eren. You had heard that name before. "Are you talking about Eren Jaeger?"

"Unfortunately." Leigh said from Armin's side.

You had heard about him. The Titan Boy as they called him in the interior. Some said he was a hero, some said he was a myth. Some of them even said he was a fraud created to boost the moral of the Scouting legion. "So he is real." You mumble to yourself. Eli would never believe it.

"Eren was only locked up because he couldn't control his titan shifting back then." Armin said coming to the mysterious boy's defense. "Not his fault."

"You know him personally?" You asked over your shoulder.

"He's like my brother." Armin sounded like he was going to say something else but changed his mind at he last minute. "We grew up together."

"And he is our cousin!" Samson added with an air of excitement.

"By adoption." His sister clarified. You nodded in understanding.

Was there anyone Samson didn't know? "So what are we really here for?" Sarah, if you remembered right, asked the boys in charge.

"Tonight, my dear Sasha," Samson began theatrically from atop a stump. "We are going to hang out, have fun, and if you got he right stuff, eat like the King himself was with us."

The bald headed one jumped up and pushed him off. "You implying we can't do our jobs?" Both boys fell into a wrestling match and you saw the others ignore it as if it was normal.