As she’d feared, a group of Titans was already swarming around the shantytown. The cannons mounted on top of the wall targeted them and spat flame. There was a tumultuous roar and clouds of smoke distended into the air.
The girl in Rita’s arms let out a muffled cry, and they felt the earth tremble through their steed. The wooden structures that had taken direct hits were decimated. Fragments seared into the air then rained back down. Angry shouts rose from the caravan of wagons. The bombardment had─unfortunately─failed to hit the Titans.
“Damned idiots!”
Rita raised her voice in response to Wilco’s cursing. “We can’t blame them. They’re fresh recruits!”
The Training Corps had been assigned to man the cannons, all kids who had enlisted only a few weeks earlier. The soldiers of the Garrison Regiment had been sent into direct combat with the Titans.
Meanwhile, the Military Police Brigade─membership of which was open only to the highest-scoring graduates of the Training Corps─had departed for Wall Rose with the rest of Quinta’s elite during the early stages of the evacuation. Rita’s childhood friend Mathias would be under their protection.
Which means he’ll be okay…
One of the shells slammed into a Titan nearing the foot of the wall.
“That’s better!” Wilco yelled reflexively.
The Titan’s wagon-sized head flew apart, spraying the air with bone, muscle, and something that resembled hair. The fragments stuck to the wall in gruesome, mottled patterns. Immediately they began to vent steam and to vanish whole. The headless Titan staggered and collapsed onto its rear end, pulverizing the wooden structure trapped underneath. Debris and steam shot up in dense clouds. By the time they cleared, the Titan’s head was already in the process of regenerating.
“Insane… This is insane. Damn it!” Wilco spat the words along with spittle.
In front of Rita, the girl began to sob. No doubt her mind and emotions were starting to catch up with her.
Artillery crashed into the ground ahead. A huge blanket of dirt took flight, assaulting them in time with the blazing air. Rita’s arm came up without thought, shielding the girl’s face for a second time.
“We’re going to…fall?!”
A gaping hole had been punched into the ground. Rita pulled her steed around, just barely managing to avoid the lip.
She navigated between burning houses. The fire was already spreading, and a Titan was slumped on its backside amidst the flames. A group of Rita’s seniors in the Garrison were charging towards it.
Fierce battles unfolded in every direction. Her former classmates and juniors, who had little field experience, were falling in quick succession. Yet, Rita forced herself to look away.
Not now!
They were to relay instructions to the soldiers beyond the wall to close the gate. It was not far now. From the gate a passageway with a barrel-vaulted ceiling led inwards, five meters tall and three wide. Suspended on an array of chains above it were iron plates, reinforced with multiple layers, the same width as the passageway.
Wagons were being swallowed and spat out one after the other. Poorer citizens who hadn’t been able to secure one were attempting to escape on foot. Some, who had come out only to witness Titans running amok, now crowded the entrance in a panic. Those who were still trying to leave the town clashed with the ones clamoring to go back in. They cursed and threw punches. Large numbers of men and women were bloodied and had broken noses, cuts on their eyes and mouths, and bruised fists, all without being attacked by the Titans themselves. The yells and indignant shouts were enough to make Rita’s ears ache.
“Wh-What are you all doing? Hey!” Rita gave a hard flick of the reins. Her mount picked up speed. “Please, turn around. Go back! You’ll be safer inside!”
“Get back. Hey, are you even listening? Do you want to die?” Wilco yelled, moving faster with Rita.
No one paid any notice. The line of wagons continued to push down the artery road. The count of Garrison soldiers protecting their passage was notably diminished. In contrast, the tally of gathering Titans was visibly greater.
“Shut the gate, this instant! Commander’s orders!”
“Wilco, there are people…”
If they forced the gate closed now, people could get caught between the falling portal and the ground.
“We don’t have the time. If they won’t listen, we have to force them.”
Rita supposed he had a point. “Yeah… Okay!”
“Damn it─they can’t hear me!”
The cannons were still booming intermittently, and the air was filled with screams. There was absolutely nothing to suggest the gate was being closed.
“I’ll tell the guys in charge, directly.”
Wilco began to operate his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. He fired an anchor, embedding the tip in the ceiling near the passageway’s entrance. He must have judged that he couldn’t get through on horseback thanks to the evacuees jammed inside.
Just then a shell detonated in close proximity. A structure burst into flames, sending fragments of floor and wall and roof hurtling towards them. A slab of the debris hit the side of Wilco’s head with a heavy thump.
His body immediately went limp. The Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was already pulling the wire in, but without accelerating any further. Moving like a string puppet, Wilco fell off his horse and hit the ground.
“Wilco?!”
The wire continued to reel in under the force of the compressed gas. Wilco’s shoulders, rear end, and head were flung hard into the earth again and again. With each impact his limbs contorted unnaturally and blood sprayed from his skin. Rita desperately tried to catch hold of him, but he stayed ever so slightly out of reach.
The soldier continued to bounce and whirl, dragged along by the wire. He suddenly began to pick up speed; perhaps his finger was caught on the trigger on the hilt of his blade. The evacuees scrambled to get out of his way. His path was open.
The string puppet was now a tattered sack. Scattering blood, it lifted up from the ground. It climbed over the evacuees’ heads, showering them.