Vengeance Of A Human

The Fateful Day: The Fall of Shiganshina

"On that day, mankind remembered the fear of oppression under them and the humiliation of being caged like birds. We lived in fear of the Titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls."

xxxxxxx

Shiganshina District, five years ago

I do not remember what I was doing that day. I just know that I was in the district of Shiganshina, my hometown within Wall Maria. I believe my parents sent me on an errand to buy some groceries or something of the sort. I believe that, at the time, I was walking from the store to the inner gate, as my home was located inside the Wall.

What I do remember is seeing the yellow light hail down from the sky.

The gentle breeze that was blowing suddenly stopped, as if the world itself was on pause. I continued to walk back to the gate, singing to myself, "Beyond the castle walls lies a hunter killing his prey with a surging killer impulse scorching his body, he pierces the dusk scarlet with a crimson arrow."

Out the corner of my eye, the lightning appeared, striking the ground with enough force to cause the ground to shake. I was launched off my feet, dropping my recently bought goods on the stone road. As I got back to my feet, I, as the other citizens around me did, looked to where the bolt had struck down. In awe and curiosity, we stared at a rising pillar of smoke.

"What was that?"

"An explosion by the sounds of it."

"You think the Garrison is behind it?"

"Is that...a hand?"

I quietly looked closer at the Wall, seeing what is indeed a hand. That's impossible for anyone, even a Titan, to grip the Wall. They don't grow over 20 meters, and the Wall itself is 50 meters. Yet, as a shadow crept over the town, our deepest fears, our frozen reality of a hundred years thawed and stared down on us like cattle. We were face to face with our demons, our oppressors, our extinction.

A Titan, colossal in size, stands barely a head over the Wall. Its body is pure muscle, tendons, and ligaments. Its eyes terrified us, the long row of teeth petrified us, and the kick it made to destroy the out gate made us run of our lives. The Titans have entered the city.

I ran as fast as I could towards the inner gate, wanting to return home to my mother and father. I ran without thinking of the groceries I bought. I ran with the only thought of survival, of not wanting to be ripped apart in the hands and mouths of these monsters. I was a ten-year-old boy, what else is there to do? The Garrison can handle the Titans, right?

As soon as I was on the other side of the inner gate, I paused for a moment to look for my parents. "Mother! Father! Ahh!" I was knocked to the ground by a passerby, yet I continue to look for my parents. They should have still been outside the city, so I know the Titans couldn't have gotten to them. "Mother!"

"Joshua!" I turned away from the Wall, seeing both my mother and father come to me. My mother gets to me first, helping me to my feet. "Oh, I'm glad you're safe!"

My father looks over me. "Are you hurt?"

I shake my head. "No."

"We have to get out of here, quickly!" We begin to run, my mother dragging me by my hand. Another set of rumbles stopped us as we turned to the Wall in time to see a huge boulder come our way. Time slowed as I felt a pair of hands touch and push me away, my eyes darted to the sight of my father's face before I-and the boulder-make contact with the ground.

A few groggy moments later, I push my face off the ground. I look around. The area is not as populated as it once was, but there are still people running. I turn to my back, seeing the boulder on the ground where...my parents last stood. I look at the ground underneath, seeing a red pool flow where the boulder meets the ground.