Cornered

Capture 3

Levi was growing anxious. Even if Bertrand had taken his time -which would be unlike him- he should have been back by now. Had something happened to him? If so his message hadn't been compromised or they would have found a trap waiting for them at the top of this hill. Levi didn't know what to do about that problem but he had another one on his hands. Eren, having fully recovered from his illness, was starting to get stir crazy. Sitting on a hill waiting for something to happen was clearly more than he could bear. Levi thought he had finally come up with a good solution for that problem however. He approached Sasha.

"Blouse, I want you to scout out the terrain, find whatever food you can; fruit, roots, even meat if you can catch it." He noticed her eyes brightened at the mention of meat. "Take Jeager, Braun, and Ackerman with you. Don't feel rushed or like you need to stay too close either. You have the whole day. Head mostly north however. I don't want you accidentally running into our pursuers." Sasha saluted her face smiling brightly. Levi took a few moments to instruct Reiner and Mikasa to be sure Eren returned safely then went about the rest of his work. So far his scouts hadn't reported anything unusual. This morning was different.

Last night a campfire had been spotted and it was close. Later that same day a company of riders rode past following their trail. It was interesting to watch a group of riders go in a straight line, when they should have been tracking. Thankfully they rode right past the hill and only glanced at it occasionally. Levi instructed them to keep their eyes on the riders and make sure they moved on. By nightfall it was confirmed they had continued riding. Levi didn't want to relax, knowing that it was too early for that, but it was a good sign that perhaps they had finally given the Military Police the slip. Sasha and her group returned and Levi pulled Mikasa aside. She followed him as he sought out Jean as well. With two more members of the Survey Corps he felt confident he had a good scouting team. They gathered together at the edge of camp after the others had retrieved their gear.

"I want you to scout out that riding party. Don't be seen whatever happens. If you suspect you have been don't lead them back here. I want to know where they're headed and if we really have lost them. Report back once you know. Sanders you're in charge." he said pointing to one of the other members of the group. They all saluted Levi then used their gear and the abundant tree cover on the hill to move towards the distant campfire. Mikasa was tired from having been hunting and gathering with Sasha all day, but she knew this was well suited to her skill set so she didn't complain. Besides, it had been good for Eren to have something to do. He didn't cope well with sitting.

Jean and Mikasa followed their leader, Landen Sanders towards the campfire. It was a good distance away and they needed to be careful to avoid being detected. It took them a few hours since the last part of the distance they couldn't use their gear at all. Once they reached the objective they were silent, not even talking to each other as they peered into the camp. The first thing that stood out to Mikasa was their obvious prisoner. Who would they have grabbed to take as a prisoner and why keep him with them? Why not take him to a cell somewhere until after they were finished? The darker part of her that had stared into the soulless eyes of her own captors guessed perhaps it was as something they could vent at. He had obviously been beaten and treated harshly. He was lying still enough that he must be unconscious. She found it interesting that he was wearing a maneuver gear harness but no jacket with an insignia.

Based on the way he'd been treated she guessed he at least was not a member of the Military Police, which left the Garrison, or the Survey Corps. She noted their leader and that he was the same man she had knocked from his horse. He was currently sleeping, and Mikasa was amazed they hadn't even thought to set a watch. Their leader gestured for them to pull back and they followed until they reached a safe place where they could discuss their findings.