FIRST ENCOUNTER

This story is basically a written form of what occurs in Episode 1 of the Attack on Titan Anime. *I do not own Attack on Titan or any of it's characters.
This story was written in response to a creative writing prompt: Write a story that starts with a traumatic event. The opening lines could be the catastrophe itself or its immediate aftermath. If you start with a traumatic moment, readers are intrigued. As in Last Lap, you have the chance to embed background information. At the same time, move the story forward. Characters reveal themselves by how they react when they're upset. Move on and keep interweaving the past. The pitfall of this shape is in making it too retrospective. After the opening jolt, can you just have the story sit there while someone mulls over the past? Generally, no. There are stories that start with a corpse (literally or metaphorically) and the rest of the story is how it happened. But the success of the story lies in immediacy. If the story seems to be happening right there, it will work. If it seems to be a remote reminiscence, it won't. It will feel static, and readers will itch for the character to "do something." A character in an upset state can be a powerful observer. You don't have to bring your character to a decision or a resolution or even to arrive at some major insight. A trauma generates its own energy. Readers want to know how it happened and what happened next, and that can create a story.