The Month Of May

Chapter 19

COMMANDER ERWIN HAD COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE WAS A SPY.

It made so much sense. Still, I felt a wave of dread run down my body. A spy...Someone within our ranks was a murderer, a terrorist, a monster. No wonder Erwin had eyes everywhere; it was to stop stuff like this from happening.

I had never thought the day would come where someone would actually betray us. I mean, we were all fighting together as a unit, all of us fighting for peace! I never could have imagined that someone...someone didn't feel the same.

Someone didn't have Erwin's mindset.

It was so...impossible sounding to me. I had never imagined something like this happening. It all felt
like a dream-no, a nightmare, some sort of wild, random nightmare that had come out of nowhere.

None of us had ever expected this. I could tell that the energetic Eren was quiet and suspicious, while Mikasa protectively surrounded Eren even more tensely. Annie seemed more distracted than usual, and whenever I tried to reassure her, her answers were always short and curt. The scared little girl I had first encountered was nowhere to be seen...she was training harder than ever.

Of course, that meant she was training me just as hard.

Only rivaled by Mikasa, Annie was quickly rising as one of the best soldiers from our year. I couldn't
help but be jealous, but I continued to push it down. No one could change the fact that she was just vastly more qualified.

"Ay, Armin!" Eren waved me over. As I made my way over, I couldn't help but notice how the guards watched my every movement...I wasn't the only one who saw it, too. While Eren was oblivious to it, Mikasa wasn't.

"Hi, Eren."

"This is all so...insane," Eren said in a hushed tone. I couldn't disagree with that in any way possible.

"...Commander Erwin said we'll all be questioned later today," Mikasa said evenly. She didn't seem scared whatsoever. To anyone else, she looked completely composed...but I knew better. Mikasa was just as worried as everyone else. She brushed her scarf back, a small habit she did when she was nervous. "As long as we have nothing to hide, we'll be alright."

"Yeah! We'll be fine," I tried to share Mikasa's outlook, but it was easier said than done. To try and distract us from the craziness, I tried to find Annie. After all, she was quickly molding into our group...well, okay, no she wasn't, she always stuck to the outskirts of training or dismissed herself whenever I invited her with the three of us, but I liked to think that she would join soon. It was easy to tell why she wouldn't want to considering how Mikasa and Annie felt about each other, but...Both of them were my friends. I wanted nothing more but for them to get along.

"Are you looking for Annie?" Mikasa called me out
on my action, and I just shrugged sheepishly. She shook her head in disapproval. "I think it's best if you two split ways. I don't want you getting into trouble because of her."

"Annie isn't causing any trouble, so you shouldn't worry," I said defensively. When it came to Annie, I felt the need to protect her from such words. I knew she could do it herself, but...I couldn't just stand there and let Mikasa say such things. "Trust me."

"She's only good for getting you into trouble!" Mikasa hissed. I was taken aback; she had never directed such a harsh tone toward me. "She was missing the day Officer Nile had been killed. Coincidence, or...?"

"That's enough!" Eren said. "Annie has been nothing but kind to us. Mika-"

"No! The guards will see this and talk. Armin, she's only going to get us all in trouble!"

"Am I, now?"

Annie walked towards us nonchalantly, a bored look on her face. Those icy cold eyes were narrowed toward Mikasa, and while Mikasa glared right back, I could tell she was caught off guard. Annie placed her hands into her sweatshirt pocket.

"Yes. You just showed up out of nowhere," Mikasa frowned. "You're bound to raise suspicion. It's only a matter of time. Who's to say you didn't kill Officer Nile?"

"Me? Kill Officer Nile?" Annie said with a sneer. "I'm a first year trainee. I happened to be sick on the same day, is that your evidence? How would I even manage to sneak into Officer Nile's office? I don't have keys. I don't have class. I don't have anything to my name. Your intuition is wrong, Mikasa."

"None of that changes how fishy you are!"

"Okay, everyone, stop!" I interrupted, waving my arms frantically to try and stop the two girls from fighting. Eren was just sitting there, bug-eyed. "Mikasa, Annie has no reason to do anything like that. She doesn't! You're being suspicious. So please...calm down!"

"Armin-"

"Mikasa, please," I paused. "Please."

"...Fine," Mikasa relented. "But if you do anything, anything suspicious...I'll take you down."

Annie's glare didn't lessen.

"Feel free. I'd like to see you try."