Never let me go

23

She had been the first to exit the train as it came to a stop at the station now known as 'base camp'. The army green tents spread out around the train platform, stretching as far as the eye could see. The station house, and the few other buildings erected around this far eastern train stop were almost swallowed up by the green sea surrounding them. The station house itself had electricity, plumbing and sported a working kitchen, and now it had been turned into a temporary cafeteria, small enough to require all personnel to follow a rotating schedule for their meal times. Storage houses had been cleared and converted into sleeping quarters for the officers, and two of them served as temporary medical clinics for the wounded being shipped back from the front lines. The platform was packed as they got off the train. Reiner felt someone shove past him the moment his feet connected with the ground, a young Marleyan officer hurried past him. The young man threw him a nasty look over his shoulder, but was in too much of a hurry to stop to reprimand him.

"Seems we have missed something" Pieck noted with a nod to the masses swarming around the platform.

"Yes" Zeke hummed, looking around him. Colt placed himself close to his mentor's elbow, making an effort not to look towards where Iris stood with the scarecrow of a man close at her side. A dull thud announced Porco's exit off the train as he threw his pack down onto the ground.

"The hell happened here?" he muttered. Reiner towered over most of the people here, so he could see the men carrying the stretchers approach as uniformed guards began trying to clear way for them to the train. They were shipping a fresh wave of wounded soldiers out of here, and by the look of it there were many of them this time. To his right he saw captain Lindner pushing his way through, accompanied by his subordinate Muntz and two more boys whose faces were unfamiliar to him.

"This way warriors, Holt" he called as he passed them by. The silent man fell in behind Lindner and his three companions, and like magic the masses parted before their little procession. Reiner felt himself contemplate the somber look on her face as her eyes followed the men being carried out by the medical personnel. Bandages covered stumps where limbs had once been, faces were wrapped up in so much gauze that their features were made indistinguishable. Some men were awake, staring at them silently as they passed by, others looked to be sleeping. A few had their eyes opened wide, but seemed unaware of what was happening around them. He wondered what she was thinking of. She had always been drawn back and secretive, like a dragon guarding its treasure of gold and gemstones. The captain zig zagged between the rows of tents, greeting some of the uniformed men they met on their way, bringing them through to the point where the camp cleared. The grassy area stood host to rows upon rows of jeeps and trucks, all painted beige to blend into the dry eastern lands they would travel through. Another thirty or so soldiers were waiting by the trucks, standing in little groups. Some were smoking, some were joking with each other, others stood alone. Their uniforms were not the standard uniforms for the Eldian troops, though they wore the yellow armbands as a sign of their race. Their straps and belts had no metal fastenings, and their weapons looked odd and foreign.

Lindner came to a stop, turning to his little mismatched group of underlings.

"They are shipping home those wounded in the last offence on the pass, that's what all the fuss is about. Unsightly, I'd just had breakfast... Wait here for me." The captain walked over to the trucks, and disappeared in between them. Reiner let his pack fall to the ground.

"Bjergsen" Iris drawled, stepping up beside the boy. "You're on my fireteam, and you've been promoted. Address me as Holt or corporal, don't call me ma'am. The first person to call me ma'am will lose an ear, got it?" she commanded, unsmiling. The boy nodded mutely, his light blue eyes were large and childlike. His friend to his left snickered and rolled his eyes. The freckled youth had reddish brown short cropped hair, looked to be of age with this Bjergsen boy and Colt, and had an air of arrogance about him.