Cornered

Attack

"Just be patient Eren, I'm sure Commander Erwin is doing everything he can to get this sorted out." Armin said. Eren nodded but didn't comment as he raised his hood and walked through the rain. The downpour continued for most of the day only starting to let up at night fall. The ground was well saturated which meant they would have to wait to move. After examining it Levi gave the order that they would depart after sunrise the next day. But the sun didn't rise soon enough. By midnight dense fog had filled the surrounding forest making it very difficult to see for any amount of distance.

Reiner had been put on watch with Connie and Sasha. They were doing their best in the low visibility, but mostly had to rely on their sense of hearing to detect what was happening. Watch started out pretty normal, Reiner patrolled around and checked with the others on watch to see if they had detected anything, then took up the position of another member of the Survey Corps while they patrolled and did as he had just done.

Reiner heard a familiar cry of surprise followed by a gasp of pain. In the present conditions he wasn't sure what had happened but he was sure of one thing. That had been Connie. He ran towards the noise determined to help his friend. There was a thud followed by agonized breathing and scrapping, like someone was fighting in the dirt. Reiner didn't know what had happened but he was just barely able to react in time, knocking back an attacker of his own. He realized they must have been waiting for him to move so they could find him. He punched the man hard in the gut and watched him crumple before heading on. He reached Connie to find him shuddering against the ground, his mouth wide open. The sounds of agonized breathing were coming from him as his body bucked against the ground causing the scrapping sounds.

"Connie?"

"There you are," a deep voice said to Reiner's right. He didn't recognize it but that was all the warning he needed. He jumped forward in a dodge then spun to engage this new enemy. The first thing Reiner noticed was that his assailant was big, but he was not as strong as himself.

"Did you do that to him?"

"Do what? I just gave him a little push," the man said tauntingly. He outweighed Connie by at least seventy pounds. Even a little push would feel more like a hit from a battering ram. Reiner glowered. No one hurt his friends and got away with it. The next few minutes were intense and brutal. Reiner barely felt his opponent's punches through his adrenaline. In the end it was the other who was lying on the ground in a bloody heap.

"Remember this, don't mess with the graduates of the 104." The man was probably barely conscious if not out already so Reiner didn't bother with anymore. He ran over to Connie who was now lying still on the ground, his eyes rolled up in his head and a stream of blood running down the right side of his face from a deep wound in his forehead. Reiner didn't have time to patch him up. He heard the whistled signal to retreat followed by the directional signal of north. He swung Connie onto his shoulder and began running towards the wagons. He got there just as they were getting ready to depart.

"Wait!" He called. Sasha, who was in the wagon bed turned around to see who was calling.

"Reiner?" She said eyes wide with surprise. Then she turned to the driver. "Stop the wagon!" Thankfully he did as she asked and Reiner reached the bed rolling Connie from his shoulder into it. Sasha gasped when she saw the blood.

"What happened?"

"He met a particularly nasty man that I put in the dirt. Patch him up if you can. I think the biggest problem is his head wound. I'm pretty sure he's fine other than that." She nodded and he raced towards the horses so he could mount and they could ride. Sasha detached Connie's gear before she pulled out clean cloth and began wiping the blood away so she could see the wound. It was deep as if Connie had been hit by the corner of something. She placed a gauze pad over it then wrapped a bandage around his forehead to keep it in place. This was all very difficult to do while the wagon was rolling, but Connie made it easier by being unconscious.

Sasha thought about resting him in the wagon bed but knew that the extra bumps their pace would cause could create a bigger problem. She propped herself against the front of the wagon bed just behind the driver and held Connie, letting his head rest against her right shoulder so his wound wouldn't be up against it. His breathing was deep and even and she hoped he wasn't in too much pain. She also hoped perhaps he would wake up before too long.