Two hours after Kuklo snuck into the carriage, the expedition was ready to go. The cheers would have drowned out any cockcrows, so he couldn’t tell whether morning had come from where he hid in the canvas-topped wagon. Still, he could tell from the rumbling in his stomach and the expectant roar of the crowd that the Survey Corps was counting down the minutes and seconds to departure.
So far, everything had gone the way Kuklo had planned. It was not a terribly complicated course of action, and the smooth going could be chalked up to simple good luck. While there was a chance that he’d be discovered before they left, the cargo team only conducted a cursory check of their supplies and failed to spot him. The idea of someone stealing a ride from them must have seemed nearly beyond the realm of possibility.
Kuklo took out the knife that hung on his hip and put its point to the canvas. The blade was surprisingly sharp and pricked the thick cloth with ease. Kuklo used this peephole to take a look outside. The wagon where he hid sat on the avenue on standby. He also glimpsed huge crowds on the roadside.
Where’s Sharle… He scrutinized his limited field of vision, but in the end he didn’t find her. He knew her, though. She watched over him from somewhere.
I must return as quickly as I can. That was the only way to put Sharle at ease again. The Survey Corps’ first expedition in fifteen years would be over in a matter of hours, but her heart would be forlorn until the moment he returned.
Sharle had no one she could depend on, Kuklo had no family, and they needed each other. Their world was a hard one to live in all alone, and he couldn’t leave Sharle to fend against it on her own.
Kuklo knew that what he was doing was utterly selfish. Yet, in order to close the book on his life as a Titan’s son and start over as a human, he had to feel certain.
For me… The alias of “Titan’s son” would continue to haunt him until his death unless he faced the beings responsible for ruining his life head-on and broke free of them.
He was almost there, though. While the Survey Corps’ goals were unclear, there was a good chance that a Titan would emerge within the first hour. A no show was quite possible, but Kuklo had faith.
The Titans must be starved, too. Of course a group of humans would be noticed. It was fifteen years since the Titans last feasted on their prey. Were it Kuklo, tempted by the smell of food he would make a beeline to it.
He was biting into jerky, his thoughts meandering, when the crowd’s cheers intensified.
It’s finally time… Despite the likelihood of coming face to face with a Titan, Kuklo didn’t feel particularly nervous, even though he knew quite well that they were man-eating monsters. Perhaps, having been called “Titan’s son” for so long, his instincts were lulled by a sense of familiarity.
“Move out!!” a robust male voice cut through the din. Horses neighed in response.
The expedition was on.
✦ ✦ ✦
A roar of excited voices blanketed the avenue, crowds of onlookers, packed onto the sidewalks, attempting to get a look at the valiant Survey Corps. Over a thousand people were gathered. Though they stood in the frigid dawn air, the heat they emitted kept them from feeling cold. In fact, they were working up a sweat from all of their pushing and shoving.
Sharle had slipped into the crowd to watch over the expedition. To be more exact, she was there to see Kuklo off on his clandestine journey to the world outside the wall. True, it didn’t feel like much of a sendoff with him hidden under the canvas.
This is the first time I’ve seen them, but they really are amazing.
Commander Carlo Piquer led the Survey Corps’ double-file formation, the sight of which could only be called spectacular.
Every soldier there was a giant of a man, and their eyes seemed to reflect their powerful wills. While they were about to head to a no man’s land crawling with Titans, their faces were free of any signs of fear. It would not have been a stretch to call them humanity’s strongest. Compared to them, recruits like her brother in the Training Corps were like children.
He’ll be all right…won’t he? It was clear on first sight that Survey Corps soldiers were just as tough as rumored. Yet even this failed to erase the anxiety spreading in Sharle’s heart. The cargo team was protected by soldiers and had a better chance of returning alive than other troops, but it was merely less risky than standing on the front lines. Going beyond the walls meant never being totally safe.
I can’t help but feel he shouldn’t have gone, Sharle succumbed to regret as the Survey Corps headed down the avenue, but it was too late. All she could do now was pray for Kuklo’s safe return.
While Sharle sighed, the Survey Corps boldly made their way through the front gates. As soon as the maneuver was complete─a busy one, with only a few minutes passing since Carlo’s initial order─the gates were summarily shut. Brisk action must have been the standing order since opening them involved great risk. None of the soldiers had made any efforts to respond to the people’s cheers.
And now, he won’t be back for hours… If things went perfectly, Ku-klo would be back in time for lunch. I doubt it’ll go that well, though…
Now with nothing to watch, the onlookers who had packed the sidewalks quickly dwindled in number. With a few hours until the Survey Corps’ return, they seemed to all have their own plans for the time being. Some were staying in order to secure front-row seats for the triumphant return, but among them were also the kin─Sharle could tell by their troubled expressions─of Survey Corps members.
The look on my face now…must be very similar.
Sharle sighed. She felt like speaking to the soldiers’ families but thought the better of it and walked away. Making contact with people close to the corps could lead to all sorts of trouble, and staying on the sidewalk was like daring the Military Police Brigade to find her.