Underground - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

We rode hard and fast, and when we came upon the village, we left the sweating, exhausted horses tied to a tree just out of view of the first few houses.
The three of us crept through the trees, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, and when we reached the first house, I held up a hand to stop the two cadets and glanced over at Johnson. "Johnson. Listen to me." I spoke in a low, hurried voice. "No matter what we find out there, you have to stay focused. Do you understand me?"
His blue eyes met mine and he held my serious gaze for just moment before he gave me a curt nod of understanding. I flicked my eyes over to Miller, who was crouched at my other side, and she gave me a thumbs up to signal she was ready, a look of determination creasing her brow.
We started to moved again, making our way silently around the side of the house. I hadn't seen any signs that the titans had beaten us here, there were no screams, no footprints, no destruction that I had seen, but we couldn't be too careful.
I paused before emerging from the shelter of the house. I could feel the sweat starting to accumulate on my brow, and I wiped away the moisture with my forearm, before I flicked my fingers at the two cadets, motioning for them to follow me forward.
We came around the corner of the house and suddenly, the village was in view before us. Everything was silent, and there was not a titan or person in sight that I could see.
I heard Miller let out the breath she had been holding behind me and then she said in a relieved tone, "They're gone. They were warned in time."
I glanced over at Johnson, whose eyes scanned over the village quickly, and noticed that he wasn't expressing any sort of relief. Miller noticed too, and she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Johnson? Aren't you happy? Your family's okay. Someone warned them before the titans got here."
A crashing suddenly echoed through the trees at the north end of the village, and I looked across the rooftops in time to see a 15 meter titan emerge from the treeline, smashing into one of the houses in the distance. "And just in time too. Here they come." I turned and motioned for Miller and Johnson to follow me. "Come on. Let's get out of here before they all turn up. We need to join back up with the squad."
Miller turned to follow me, but Johnson remained where he was, frozen, as he watched another titan emerge from the trees at the far end of the village.
I stopped and turned back to him. "Johnson. Come on. What are you doing?"
"My house...." He spoke in a halting voice, his eyes still locked on the titans. "It's at the far end of the village. Why would the titans be here if everyone had already been evacuated?" He whirled to face us, his eyes widening with sudden terror. "My house is down there. What if they didn't leave? What if they're not gone?"
"Johnson, that's impossible." Miller took a step toward him, speaking in a calming, reasoning voice. "Why would everyone else be gone, but your family still be here?"
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the far end of the village, coming from the area where the titans were.
Johnson flung his head around at the sound and before I could stop him, he bolted, sprinting toward the titans towering in the distance.
"Johnson! Get back here!" I yelled after him, but he ignored me and disappeared from sight around the corner of one of the houses.
I swore under my breath and turned to Miller, who was still looking at where Johnson had disappeared, her eyes wide with shock. I took her by the shoulders and shook her, making her look at me. "Miller, listen to me. Get back to the horses. Fire a flare. Let Ackerman and the squad know exactly where we are, and wait for them to get to you. I'm going after Johnson."
She hesitated for a moment and then said shakily, "Yes, corporal!" She took off, running back in the direction we had come.
I whipped out the line for my 3DM and anchored it to the roof of the house in front of me, leaping up and onto the shingles. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop with the help of the 3DM, keeping an eye out for Johnson as I moved. He had been on foot, he'd be slower than I was.
When I reached the area of the village where the titans were, I paused, surveying the situation in front of me. The two 15 meters had now been joined by a few other 10 and 7 meter titans. Johnson had been right. Why would they all be drawn here if there was no one here for them to prey on?
I glanced off the rooftop to my right and caught sight of Johnson, creeping along the wall of one of the houses. Swinging off the rooftop on the 3DM line, I landed a few houses over from him and crept between the walls until I caught sight of where he was crouched.
Being quiet, so as not to attract the attention of any of the titans, I padded over to Johnson and crouched beside him. "What the hell were you thinking?" I hissed at him, glancing over at one of the smaller titans as it smashed open one of the house's doors.
"I heard a scream. My family's still here." He said, gritting his teeth, his hand going to the blade at his waist. "I swear, if they hurt them...."
I put a hand on his arm. "Don't be rash, Johnson. There's only the two of us until the squad gets here. How many do you think we could really take out on our own?"
Suddenly, another scream echoed through the village, much closer this time.
I dug my fingers into Johnson's arm, keeping him in place, as one of the larger titans pulled its hand out of one of the houses, a wriggling form clenched in its fist. Its gaping mouth open in a snarling grin, the titan let out a loud bellow as it raised the struggling figure to its lips, saliva dripping down its chin and onto its sunken chest.
I felt Johnson tense beside me and I glanced over at him. His eyes were wide as he focused on the person in the titan's hand, and suddenly, he was screaming. "That's my house! That's my mom! You bastard! Let her go!"
He lunged, reaching down to pull out his blades as he did so, but I grabbed him and dragged him backward, pulling him back against the wall of the house with me. I threw a hand over his mouth to shut him up and wrapped my other arm around his body as he struggled to break free. His screams of agony and anger were muffled under my hand, and I could feel his hot tears running over my knuckles as I held him back. I couldn't let him go. I couldn't let him give us away. We'd be dead for sure if he drew their attention to us.
The titan, still holding the screaming, flailing woman, finished raising her to its lips and in one smooth motion, bit her small body in half with its giant canines. Blood sprayed across the titan's face as it chewed, the limp lower body still held in its grasp.
Johnson went limp in my grip, and his yells of anger turned to body wracking sobs. I held him up, not releasing my hold on him, as we both stayed hidden against the wall of the house. I leaned my head back against the brick and closed my eyes for a brief moment, gritting my teeth against emotion and feeling the hot tears gather in my own eyes as Johnson continued to grieve.
Another scream rang out across the empty village, this one shriller and higher pitched than the first.
"My sister!" Johnson straightened and started to fight against my grip again. "That's my sister! Mory!"
I released my hold on him and shoved him back against the wall of the house, putting my hands on his shoulders as I looked at him, hard. "Johnson, listen to me. I'll get her. But you have to stay here. They'll rip you apart and I need you to keep our position a secret until the squad gets here. Am I clear?"
I didn't wait for him to nod. I shot up onto the rooftop, pulling my blades out as I landed lightly on the roof. I glanced over the group of titans and saw one of the smaller 10 meters digging in a house for something. I heard the scream again. She was in the house. If she could just stay hidden until I got there....
I swung forward on the 3DM, headed for the 10 meter titan, when one of the 15 meters noticed me. It shambled toward me, arms outstretched, mouth hanging open, bloody teeth speckled with saliva. I whipped a wide arc around it and slashed my blade across its neck as I came back around. With a crash, it fell onto the houses, crushing the buildings beneath its large body like paper.
I flicked out one of my 3DM lines and attached it to the neck of the 10 meter, that was still rummaging in the house for what I could only hope was Johnson's little sister. With an enraged yell, I lifted my blade above my head and in a swift motion, shot to the 10 meter, bringing the sword straight down into its neck. With a spray of dark blood, the 10 meter fell, crushing part of the house it had been digging in.
I landed on the ground beside its fallen body and darted into the house, praying that the little girl was all right. "Mory! Mory, are you in here?" I called out, frantically searching through some of the fallen rubble in the dark interior of the house.
As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, I caught sight of her, knees drawn to her thin chest, hands over her eyes, as she huddled fearfully in a corner.
I approached her and crouched down beside her, gently reaching out to remove her small hands from her tear soaked eyes. She looked at me fearfully and I have her a small smile as I said, "Mory, I'm here to help you. Can you trust me? If you come with me, you can see your brother, okay?" I heard a crash from the house next door and knew the titans were moving in due to the fall of their brother nearby. I glanced back at the little girl and held out a hand, saying, "We have to leave right now, Mory. Will you come with me?"
She hesitated for a brief moment and then put her small, dirty hand into mine. I pulled her to her feet and slung her onto my back. I looked over my shoulder at her and gave her another reassuring smile. "Hold on tight, okay?"
We shot up onto the roof of the house, narrowly missing the swinging hand of the other 15 meter titan as it made a move to grab at us as we emerged. I shot the 3DM line out to another house and another, and soon, we were back to where I had left Johnson.
I dropped to the ground beside him, and when he saw his sister clinging to my back, his eyes immediately filled with tears. He grabbed the little girl up into a tight hug. "Mory! You're all right!"
I glanced back toward the south side of the village. "You and Mory need to get back to the horses and safety." I swore under my breath. "Where in the hell is Ackerman with the rest of our squad?"
Johnson heard what I had muttered to myself and turned to look at me, surprise flashing across his face. "Wait, you didn't see him down there?"
I looked at him, distracted for a moment. "See who where?"
"Corporal Ackerman." Johnson raised his eyebrows at me. "The squad got here just a few minutes ago. He came to check on us, Miller must have told him we were down here, and when I told him where you were, he came to find you." He drew his brows back down in worry. "You didn't see him down there?"
Nausea filled my stomach. Levi had gone after me by himself? Why would he do something that stupid? And where was he? I pulled out my blades again. "Johnson, get your sister to safety. I'll be back."
I readied myself to use the 3DM again, but before I could leave the room, Johnson called out, "Wait, Corporal! What are you going to do?"
I glanced over my shoulder at him. "I'm going to go and find Ackerman. And when I do, I'm going to kill that damn fool for being so reckless."