Levi x OC | Humanity's Greatest

1 - The Survey Corps

"Wakey Wakey!" a high pitched, female voice tore me from my deep slumber. I opened my eyes wearily to focus on Hanji, who had burst into the girls billet with an energy that was abnormal for someone to have at this hour in the morning.

I joined the Survey Corps a few months back. My first expedition beyond the walls was around a week ago, and the soldiers that were lucky enough to return from the grave mission were given a few days off to gather back their much needed physical and emotional strength.

Outside of the walls, I saw things I'd only ever heard about in stories as a child. Huge trees that were taller than any titan and green grassy fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. The vast amount of land outside of our puny city was unbelievable.

Unfortunately, on the expedition not only did I get to experience the sheer beauty of mother nature, I also saw the horrific events that occur when humans clash with titans. Hundreds of good soldiers had died, and I personally had watched in utter horror as comrades were torn apart and devoured as if they were nothing. When I joined the Survey Corps, i thought I had the stomach to cope with seeing titans in real life, but the fear I felt when I laid eyes on one of the monsters was like nothing I'd ever experienced. It's safe to say my dreams were no longer peaceful and most of the night was spent tossing and turning in bed, trying not to think about the countless lives that were lost for nothing.

We had to cut the expedition short when a huge abnormal titan appeared and killed a vast amount of men. I didn't see the abnormal myself, I only saw it's corpse after it had been mercilessly cut into pieces by a lone soldier. When I looked at the dead titan I wondered who could be capable of doing such a thing unassisted. 

"Time to get up, ladies!" Hanji cooed. "Training restarts today! I want you all outside in 10 minutes! Chop Chop!"

I groaned. Hanji was nice but she sure could be annoying in the mornings. I swung my legs off my bed and hauled myself up, throwing on my uniform in a lazy effort to look smart.

I jogged outside to line up with the rest of the recruits that had recently joined the survey corps...or at least what was left of them. Hundreds had been killed in the most recent expedition beyond the walls, and those who hadn't been killed were clearly suffering on the emotional side.

The Survey Corps commander, Erwin Smith appeared and we saluted.

"Congratulations" Erwin said. "You all ventured beyond the walls and returned to tell the tale. Each and every one of you is now a fully fledged member of the Survey Corps! You have earned my respect"

I heard someone shuffling next to me, so I turned my head slightly to see a boy, around my age. He was taller than me, but still short, he had dark hair styled in an undercut. There was nothing extremely out of the ordinary about this boy, except for the grave expression on his face.

Of course, we'd all been to hell and back, and we were all suffering after the wrath of the titans, but this boy was the worst I'd seen since returning from the expedition. His eyes were dark and sunken, his skin pale. He looked like he hadn't slept for days.

I think he noticed me staring, because he glanced over at me and shot me a cold look that sent a shiver down my spine. I turned my head back to commander Erwin, who was still speaking:

"You will now resume your training to prepare for the next expedition beyond the walls. To your duties, soldiers!"

Erwin left to go about his business, and Hanji took his place.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen!" she called out, with her usual cheerful tone that made her sound slightly unhinged. "All of you need to report to your seniors for appropriate training, unless I call out your name in a second, then you should report to me when everyone else is dismissed"