[F/N]

She could feel her heart thud to her stomach; her brain was still trying to process what he had just said. Surrounded?

"What?"

Armin looked a little uncomfortable, due to her hardened, serious gaze; he fidgeted around nervously. "We--we are surrounded, by other people. Outsiders. People we don't know," he stammered, obviously a little nervous. "They're heavily armed too--and we won't get out of this too fast."

She let out a short sigh, her lips forming into an empty smile, muttering 'unbelievable'. "But when I saw them--it was only--I only saw a few crowded up in...ah..." she rubbed her temples, resting her gun on her shoulder. "Do the others know about this?"

"I...I don't think so, I'm sorry," he murmurs quietly. "I only saw them come out after Levi, Jean, and Mikasa went to the place over there to eliminate the threats." He points to the place she had seen them last. "And...oh my god, Eren."

"W-What?" she said, dropping her guards down. Panic and anxiety built up in her throat like bile. "What about him?"

"He probably took the back door like the others," he sighed, his expression turning more grim and darker. "I think he thinks that there were only a few needed to be taken care of near the front. But there's more people from the back, too, and...it's too late to tell him and--dang it!" Armin bit his lip, turning his head sideways sharply, glaring into the night sky, as if to blame the stars for plotting this situation and befalling them with bad luck.

At that very moment, a shriek pierced the air--it sounded somewhat inhuman, which set [F/N] into panic. She swiped up her sniping gun as she saw her allies set off into action, only facing the front. She quickly aimed to their backside, where she saw a few more shadows lurking, possibly to perform an ambush on their own ambush. Smart.

"Not today, kiddos."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she made shots after shots, only using them when desperately needed. She quickly eliminated any possible threats that could cause some real damage to their group, but not enough to completely free them of enemies. After all, they had great potential.

As she confirmed that they had enough enemies to fight against alone, she quickly scurried to the backside, where Armin was standing, trembling as he tried to aim with a shotgun. He looked at her, frightened and all shaken up like hell.

Armin whipped his head back in surprise, nearly dropping the weapon. He fumbled with it a few times before he regained his grip on his shotgun. She sighed heavily, in a mixture of sympathy and irritation. "You don't have to do this," she muttered, taking the gun off his arms. "I'll take care of it, just...watch over the building and make sure none of them get in." She tossed the gun into a corner. "And if they do," she began, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Kill them."

He tensed up under her hardened gaze and the pressure on his shoulder. He flinched, bobbing his head up and down. Unfortunately, it was a dumb look for someone so smart. With a deep sigh, she released his shoulder, and he made his way to the emergency exit in a light jog.

She grit her teeth as she looked over the fences, silently wishing that Jean was here with her; he was one of the best snipers there were, and she was only second best, coming in close to his accuracy, productivity, and speed.

[F/N] squinted through the scope, stopping her breathing for a split moment in order to refrain her hands from shaking, so that she could have a slightly better aim. Her finger pulled the trigger, perfectly in line with his head. That bastard nearly chopped off Eren's head; she wouldn't have ever forgave herself if he succeeded in doing so. The victim stumbled back, a spurt of blood sprouting from his forehead.

Yes.

Eren looks up, gleefully smiling with gratitude. She smiled back, only to stop before she nearly screeched out. There was one more of them behind Eren, who seemed oblivious and unsuspecting to his intentions.

Oh my god.

But Eren single-handedly grabbed that son of a bitch, throwing her completely off guard--it was completely out of her expectations for him to do so. He threw him over his shoulder like he had done it millions of times, which he had, and proceeded to throw down his bat at the poor guy's face. She could see some dark liquid spurting up from his bat, showering him with it. She frowned at the gruesome sight, but he looks up, mouthing 'it's okay'. She wrinkled her nose, as she knew that it was the blood of his victim that he had bathed in.

She hurried over to the other side of the rooftop, peering down as she watched her comrades fighting the intruders.

-

"Yeah, you want some of this?"

Levi threw a reckless punch at the guy's jaw, making him go slack-jawed at the impact. He falls to his knees, rendering him unconscious.

"Oh, Corporal, where'd you pick up such a move?" Jean mocked, using his nickname sarcastically. "It's a dangerous move--one good hit to the jaw, and they're gone."

Levi grunted in disapproval, as he was not in favor of being addressed by that name. "Don't call me that, it's annoying," he pulled the trigger on his handgun, releasing a bullet into the unconscious intruder's head. "I don't think it's that dangerous--it's more humane. They won't even feel the pain when they die."

Jean grumbles. "Whatever, Captain."

Mikasa looks up to them, a helpless young boy in her grip. "Take your fight somewhere else. We have a more important matter in our hands--this thing."

Mikasa tugged on the boy's shirt collar upwards, earning a slight whimper from him. He didn't look much old, maybe around fifteen or sixteen?

"What about that baldie?" Levi grumbled. "He's dirtier than shit. Why didn't you kill him already?"

"He couldn't even pull the trigger when he had me. He could've put a bullet in my back when he had the chance. But, unfortunately, that chance is gone now." Mikasa nodded to the gun that looked like it was bent, nearly broken in half, and skittered down the road.

Jean stares in disbelief. "You did that?"

"Why, is it surprising?" Mikasa widened her eyes just a fraction, giving him a death glare that conveyed a message of something like 'say anything more and I'll kill you right here, right now'.

"N-no."

"I thought so, Jean," she muttered. "Alright, now what do we do with you?" Mikasa shoved the boy with the shaven head up to the wall, making him groan out in pain. Mikasa gave him a blank stare, right through his eyes; his pupils were almost quivering in fear.

Holding a straight gaze, she asked, "where is your group from?"

With a tremulous bottom lip, the young boy held up his shaky hands, as if to surrender before them. "I can't, I'm sorry! They took me in when no one else would, a-and I need to stay loyal to them. I-I have to repay my debt b-by at least showing them some loyalty!"

"Well, your group is one shit of a gang, y'know that?" Jean spat in the nearby grass. "Then at least tell us your name, kid."

-

"Hey, Armin, you okay?"

[F/N] patted Armin's back as he leaned against a wall, reeking of puke; he felt lifeless and dead in her hands, as that one shot he took seemed to be enervating. He sputtered a little, apologizing for his cowardly actions.

"No, no, what are you apologizing for? If you hadn't taken the shot, I would've been injured, or worse, dead. So I should be thanking you. You did well."

She patted his back again for some comfort as he wiped his lips with his sleeve. "T-Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

A smile breaks out on her face as she nodded. [F/N] passed him a bottle of water.

"Armin, are you down there?"

She scurried down the stairs when she didn't get immediate response. She kept her footsteps light and soft, in case someone was in there--someone that didn't belong in here.

She peeked out the door, only to find Armin's terrified face staring back at her. He seemed to be holding the front door down, where she heard the banging of the fists and kicks. [F/N] took in a shaky breath, wiping at her forehead.

"Armin!" she whisper-yelled as she ran over to help Armin hold back the doors. Gunshots are heard right then, and the bouncing and thudding of the doors reduced to nothing.

Armin gave a sigh of relief, and she did as well. They are doing good out there, or at least she thought they were.

It was when she had her guard down--someone broke in from the side, accompanied by a shatter of the glass, knocking her down with tremendous force. Her spine came in contact with the hard marble floor. She groaned at the impact, and she noticed a hooded figure on top of her, pointing the nozzle of his shotgun to her chin.

Her breathing had become more shallow and erratic. Shit. Was this how her life was going to end? She had imagined her death plenty of times, but she never thought it would be as pathetic as this. Hell, she couldn't even put up a fight right then!

Just then, he jerked unnaturally to the right, liquid spurting from the left side his head. She gave a small gasp of surprise as he collapsed on the floor next to her.

She snapped her head around to the left to see Armin, shaking in fear with widened eyes. He was trembling pretty hard, and she could've thought that he was standing in the middle of an earthquake. He dropped his handgun which clattered onto the cheap tiles.

He cupped his hand around his mouth, excusing himself to the corner of the market, retching over the tile floor.

"Hey."

Jean whistled as he barged into the room, immediately scrunching up his nose as he smelled the puke in the corner of the market. Levi and Mikasa came in right after; a few contusions were noticeable, but nothing seemed too major to [F/N]'s eyes. Eren came in last, who had the most bruises and cuts from his hand-to-hand and melee kills.

And...someone else. An unfamiliar face.

He was cuffed up, a gag shoved in his mouth--he was pushed onto the ground by Levi, who had given him a small kick on the back. The first thing [F/N] noticed were his eyes--his eyes looked dull and tired, and a little teary-eyed, and...really dirty. He was covered with grime, and looked like he had been bathing in filth. Levi looked at him like he was the nastiest thing in the world--and she might've agreed with him, if she hadn't seen anything worse. The boy looked at her, struggling to sit back up.

But what was interesting was his shaved head. She didn't see a lot of shaved heads nowadays--most heads that she had seen had disheveled, shaggy hair. It was a rare sight for her.

Eren pushed him back down to the ground, removing the gag from his mouth. The stranger sputtered and coughed, a little relieved that the gag had been taken out.

"Uh..." [F/N] began, stealing glances between the hostage and Mikasa. "Does anyone want to explain what happened here?"

"He's our hostage," Levi steps on his back, earning a pained groan from the stranger. "He's been spared from the rest since he was...humane, I guess. He seems awfully nice. Couldn't even shoot Mikasa."

She frowned, but she gave the hostage a tender look. "Aw, can't we just let him go?"

"No!" Levi yells, maybe a little too quickly. "No, no. It is too dangerous. They could send more people here. I can't risk that for the group, [F/N]. We'll all die."

"But he's..." she looked back at him, pity filling her up. "Levi, we can just go somewhere else. Like, far away. We've got a week, after all, right?"

"No, [F/N], this is what your problem is," Levi growled, forming his hands into fists. "You're not fit to be a leader. At all. Do you know what kinds of sacrifices you need to make to satisfy your group as a whole? Do you even know anything, [F/N]? You're too fucking dense in the head, you give others your trust too well, and you are too fucking naive!"

She took a step back on instinct, a little pained to be criticized by Levi's harsh mouth--but it wasn't anything that she didn't know before. She knew all of this. She knew that she had her own problems. She knew that she was, quote, 'too fucking dense in the head' and 'too fucking naive'.

"I know," [F/N] muttered quietly. "I know, okay? But that doesn't give you the right to say all that. Was that even necessary? I'm not that stupid!"

"[F/N]..." Levi began, hushing his tone down to a whisper.

"No, shut up!"

Silence fell over the group like a heavy veil.

[F/N] held tears back--oh, how she hated looking weak in front of others.

Suck it up, [F/N].

"Anyways," Levi sighed in exasperation. "We need to know how many more people they have on their side, so we know--"

"Uh, actually..."

A raspy voice cut in through Levi's own, earning an irritated glare from him. The hostage cowered a little in his presence, but talked anyway.

"That was it. That was our group. All of them." His eyes swiftly averted to the side when he finished his sentence, which felt somewhat suspicious to all of them. He began nibbling on his bottom lip, his eyes shooting skyward.

Okay, definitely suspicious.

"Hey, buddy," [F/N] cleared her throat before talking in the most tender, maternal voice she could manage. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied again, refusing to look her in the eye. She sighed.

"It's really important to us. It's important to know where they are, too," she said softly, somewhat condescending. He slightly trembled when she placed a hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it a little, giving him a pitiful smile. "I know it's hard for you out here, and it's hard for us too. We could help each other out, yeah?"

Mikasa and Levi seemed to do no help--they were literally just gunning him down just by looking at him. [F/N] sighed again, a little fed up with their presentable demeanor. "Just talk. They're just doing this to scare you." She gave him a light chuckle to assure him of the sorts.

Levi opened his mouth to protest, but [F/N] quickly shushed him.

"Um," his voice quivered, his eyes wary and darting back and forth between the members of the group, before looking back at [F/N]. "We're from downtown," he sighed, then hung his head in shame that he was overpowered so easily. "A-And we have a lot of people there, too many to defeat--"

"Oh? How many would that be?"

Connie bit his lips, giving into the warm eyes that [F/N] had been giving him for an eternity. "Like, I don't know, twenty something?"

"Tsk, twenty?" Levi rolled his eyes out of annoyance. "We took out more than that amount without breaking a sweat. Let's go find out where these shitty people live."

"Wait, Levi. They're all bruised up, so are you. You aren't in the best shape, you know," she countered, giving him a little frown of disapproval. Levi only scoffed before shoving his hands in his pant pockets.

The atmosphere was tense again.

"So?" Eren cut in, a little enthusiastically. "We can do it, [F/N]. Stop being such a mom. Just because we have some bruises and cuts on our skin doesn't mean our whole body will shut down. They are minor injuries too. And it's okay; we can leave this place. I don't mind."

"For once, this little brat is right," Levi murmured. "Well, I'm going to take a piss."

Giving no attention to Levi's disappearance, they all kept their eyes focused on the hostage. "So, you're taking us there, right?" she asked again, trying her best not to lose patience. She kept her voice calm and gentle. "Answer me, please."

"W-Who said anything about that?" he yelled back, the fury in his eyes igniting back in his eyes. "I am not putting in any of our group to danger! Ever!"

Oh my god. Keep calm, [F/N].

"Look, we can try to work something out, maybe?" she tried for the thousandth time, keeping her tone even. "It's possible. Or you can just give up and join our group." She hesitantly faked a smile for extra effect.

"No way," he rejects, his voice clearing up. "No fucking way. I don't have a clue on who you guys are, what you guys do for a living--"

She closed her eyes, as her patience had run out. Jean cut in, thankfully.

"Listen here, boy--we just need you to lead us to where the fuck everyone is, and you're good to go. Our only objective is to kill. Kill away all the threats..." he grinned maniacally, which seemed to shake him up badly. "We're doing our job as the Purgers--America wants population control? We take care of it."

"Hey, Jean," Armin cut in, somewhat timid. "Try not to intimidate him too much. After all, what does he know?"

"Yeah, don't reveal our real intentions out there, Jean. You don't know what he might do," [F/N] murmured, a little uneasy. "He might stab us when we're asleep."

Jean clicked his tongue, in slight disappointment. "Then we'll just tape him to the floor and if that doesn't work, we'll use some tranquilizers on him. We found those not to long ago, didn't we?" He cocked his head to the side, grinning. "Problem?"

Even Mikasa tenses up a little. Jean just rolled his eyes, freeing the hostage from his grasp.

"And if you dare to even have thoughts about betraying us, you'll have bullets in your back before you realize it," Jean spat, before taking Eren and Armin by their arms. Mikasa followed suit. "I'm leaving. Have a good talk with [F/N]."

[F/N] turned her attention to the hostage, giving him a little shove to the shoulder by kicking him lightly. He groaned in response.

"Sorry," she muttered, genuinely apologetic. "I was just testing out this new thing where I should be mean to people whenever I want to elicit an answer from them. Sorry for my friends' behaviors, but uh, yeah. That's how they roll."

The boy only scoffed in response. "I don't believe that. Drop the act. Stop trying to get friendly with me."

"So are you in this or not?" she asked, completely oblivious to his commentary.

He kept his mouth sealed.

"What's your name?" she tried, urging him to talk. He looked up, meeting her with an unmatched gaze.

"Connie."

-

[word count: 3191]

》 published march 28, 2016