A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the first chapter! Enjoy!

edited on august 16th, 2021 @ 1:26pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙽𝙴,
𝓣𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙶𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙰.

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《 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖸𝖤𝖠𝖱: 𝟪𝟦𝟧 — 𝖲𝖧𝖨𝖦𝖠𝖭𝖲𝖧𝖨𝖭𝖠 𝖣𝖨𝖲𝖳𝖱𝖨𝖢𝖳 》

A YOUNG JOSIAH VERLICE CLIMBED to the top of the treehouse, entering the window to find his two childhood best friends, Soren Adams and Clayton Brendon.

"What's up, losers?" Josiah greeted.

"Can't you come up here properly, Jo?" Clayton mumbled.

"No way! That takes fun out of everything. You're always such a downpour, Clay!" Josiah grunted, looking out of the treehouse window. "You're so unathletic. You'd probably be the first one to die when we join the Survey Corps."

"Good thing I'm not going to the Survey Corps then. I'm joining the Military Police." Clayton stated.

"Bor-ing!" Josiah sang. "Who wants to be stuck in an office, doing the same thing everyday?"

"Beats dying."

"Can you two not start?" Soren sighed, being the peacemaker between his two friends like always. "Jo, what do you need?"

"Let's walk around town!" Josiah suggested.

The trio exited their treehouse as they took a walk around Shiganshina District. Suddenly, they heard the bell ring, signaling that the Scouts were back.

"They've returned!" Josiah shouted as he began running.

"Jo, slow down!" Soren warned as him and Clayton chased after him.

Josiah hopped onto a barrel with Soren and Clayton following him. Though, what he saw made the brunette's blood run cold. Bloodied bandages, missing limbs, bodies covered in white sheets with blood seeping through. The soldiers themselves dragged each other and limped inside the Wall with their horses.

Around them, the harsh whispers of the crowd made it's way to their ears.

"There are all the soldiers that made it back?"

"The rest must've been eaten..."

"That's what happens when you go outside the Walls."

An elderly woman rushed out from the crowd. "Moses! Moses!" She called out desparately as she approached one of the soldiers. "Um, my son, Moses... I don't see him. Where is he?"

The soldier stared down at her with a hard stare, his eyes unblinking. "This is Moses's mother. Bring it." He said to another soldier.

He nodded and when he came back, he dispatched a bloodied cloth into her arms. She slowly unwrapped it, gasping in shock and horror when she saw what it was. It was an arm that had purple splotches and blood splatters. She quickly covered it back up.

"That is all we managed to retrieve." The man informed. The woman broke down into tears, wailing and crying as she held the arm close to her and dropped down to her knees.

"But my son... He helped, right?" She then asked. "Even if he didn't do anything directly... My son's death helped humanity fight back, didn't it?!"

"O-Of course—" The man began but then stopped. "No. Our recon this time didn't... No, we never... Never learn a thing!" He screamed, his voice echoing through the crowd.

"Is this what you want to do, Jo?" Clayton whispered as he looked towards him. "Do you want to disappoint people?"

"Shut it, Clay." Soren warned.

"It's my fault..." The man continued to scream. "My own incompetence killed our men! And we still don't even know what they are!"

"So he's a commander..." Josiah thought.

All the townspeople look on with horror in their eyes. No one could say a thing. The elderly woman stared at the man with broken eyes, tears running down her cheeks and hitting the dirt road. With a sigh, the man stood back up with his spirit shattered, and began walking once more, the rest of the Scouts following him.

"What a mess..."

"You've got that right. It's like our taxes all go to fatten them up."

"I'll be right back!" Josiah shouted to his friends before hopping down the barrel and running after the Scouts.

"Why is he always so reckless?" Clayton sighed before him and Soren ran after him.

"Wait!" Josiah called out to the Scouts as a man behind the line stopped and looked at him.

"You looking for someone, kid?" He questioned.

"I just..." Josiah breathed out as Clayton and Soren eventually caught up to him. Josiah finally regained his breath and stood up. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you guys are doing! Please don't give up on us because I want to join you when I reach of age!"

Josiah then bowed at them respectfully as the Scouts all looked at the boy with shock in their eyes. "Stop speaking that nonsense, Jo. You're embarrassing yourself." Clayton said.

"Shut up, Clay! At least they're doing something for humanity unlike your stupid Military Police who just laze around all day!" Josiah shouted.

A short man who looked about 5' 3" snorted. At least the kid had humor. "Huh? You wanna repeat that?" Clayton questioned.

"You two are giving me a headache." Soren sighed before looking at the Scouts. "I'm sorry about them. We'll be leaving. It's like Jo said, thank you for all that you do. Not all of us are ungrateful."

They walked away from the Scouts as Soren shivered. "That was so nerve wracking." He mumbled as they finally arrived at Josiah's house.

"Mom, we're back!" Josiah shouted as his mother appeared from the kitchen.

"Josiah, welcome home." His mother, Sophia, greeted back. "Soren, Clayton, you're here too. Are you staying for lunch?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Ms. Verlice." Soren told her.

The three of them washed their hands before Sophia set the food down at the places on the table as they began eating.

"Josiah says he wants to join the Survey Corps." Clayton announced as Sophia almost dropped a plate in the sink and turned around.

"Clay, you bastard! You said you wouldn't say anything!" Josiah argued as his mother walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What on earth are you thinking, Josiah? Going outside the walls. That's ridiculous. At least join the Military Police where you'll be safe." Sophia told her son.

"I'm not joining that stupid branch! It's absurd, Mom!" Josiah shouted before he scoffed and ran out the door.

"Jo!" Soren and Clayton yelled. Sophia turned to the two children.

"Soren, Clayton. You know how reckless my son can be. Please make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. He'll listen to you two." Sophia said.

"We will, Ms. Verlice." Soren promised.

"He's an idiot that's what he is. Don't worry, Ms. Verlice. I'll drag him to the Military Police if I have too." Clayton added as him and Soren followed Josiah out the door.

Sophia just sighed, deciding to call up her friend Carla. She wondered if her two children had the same ridiculous thought.

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"What's so bad about wanting to go outside of the walls? That woman just doesn't get it!" Josiah said in frustration as him and his two friends stopped by a creek.

"You have to understand from her point of view, Jo. She just wants to protect you. You're the only thing she cares about in this cruel world." Soren tried to explain.

"Protecting me, my butt!" Josiah said, throwing a pebble in the water as it skipped along. "It's moments like these when I wish my father was around. Even though I never knew the man. I bet he would've been more understanding."

"How much do you know about him anyhow?" Clayton questioned.

Josiah looked at the sky, seeing the orange and yellow hues of the sun as it went down. "Not much, unfortunately. Mom said he was a horrible man who treated her like crap." He replied.

"She is right about one thing, though. You shouldn't throw your life away." Clayton said.

"I'm not throwing my life away." Josiah told him. "It's called helping humanity fight back."

"The walls have held for 100 years according to my father. But that doesn't mean that could change." Soren stated.

"Let's hope it doesn't." Clayton said.

There was a long silence among the trio until a large ferocious bang shattered the sky. The ground shook as the trio covered their ears at the sound of the explosion. Shouts of alarm rang throughout the street.

"What was that?" Clayton questioned.

"An explosion?" Josiah mumbled.

Smoke appeared from the top as Soren took off. "S-Soren!" Josiah called out as him and Clayton chased after the silvery-white haired male.

"Soren, what's wro—" Clayton's voice trailed off as the crowd stopped in a clearing between houses and the wall. Josiah's heart dropped as he widened his eyes.

At the very top of the Wall was a hand. A bright red hand that held together by muscle. It was skinless and looked like it didn't belong to an average human.

"It's... one of them. A Titan!" Josiah thought.

"T-That wall is 50 meters! H-How?" Soren stuttered, grabbing onto Josiah's sleeve.

That day, humanity remembered...

Steam appeared from it's mouth and a giant skinless head stared back at them. "We're truly the prey to the predators. But there's no way a Titan could be that huge!" Josiah thinks to himself.

The earth shook as the Titan moved. No one moved an inch, everyone was frozen in fear at the sight of their nightmare right in front of them. The Titan's grip on the wall crumbled as it brought it's foot up and kicked.

...the terror of being ruled by them...

There was a blast sounding from the Wall as a rain of rocks and debris hurled into the air. The debris and rocks flew into houses, roads, and people. Some attempted to flee, only to be crushed by the impact.

...the humiliation of being kept in a cage.

Winds blew their hair and sent people through the air, screams filled the town and there was major panic. Bodies ran past the three childhood best friends as Josiah could only stare as his eyes caught sight of the damaged wall to see the Colossal Titan still there.

"What the hell?" The brunette mumbled as the massive Titan disappeared.

"I-It kicked through the wall like it was nothing!" Clayton exclaimed.

"They're coming inside!" A man screamed and thundering steps were followed as a Titan went through the hole in the wall. If people weren't running, they certainly were now.

Josiah looked over and saw that the debris had launched in multiple directions including where his house was. "We have to go!" Josiah told his two friends as they began running.

"Jo, Soren, look out!" Clayton warned before pushing them back.

"Clay!" Josiah shouted, seeing the blonde-haired boy get picked up by a gray-haired Titan and easily get swallowed.

"Let's go! Let's not let Clay's sacrifice be for nothing!" Soren yelled as the now duo began taking off again.

Debris came flying again as it hit Soren, trapping him under. "Soren!" Josiah exclaimed.

"Forget about me! Go to your mom! Go J—" Soren's voice was cut off when he got crushed under the Armored Titan's foot.

Josiah looked up at the Armored Titan in horror. He dodged his legs just as he took off running again, leaving the debris behind.

He was knocked back from the amount of debris but got up to run toward his house just in time to see his mother be eaten by another Titan.

"Mom!" Josiah could only yell as he fell in the street filled with rubble and blood. "Mom, Clay, Soren... Why? Why is this happening?" He thinks to himself as he clenched his fist, flashes of his friends and his mother ran through his mind.

"Kid, you got to get out of here!" A Garrison soldier exclaim as he picked the boy up and put him onto a ship.

Josiah was too in shock to say anything. He lost his childhood best friends and his mom in a matter of minutes. He let out broken sobs along with hiccups as he thought about what happened.

"What did we do to deserve this?"

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Josiah was covering his ears. He couldn't stop shaking. He could feel the fear of the other civilians around him. He could see the civilians that were left behind trying to jump onto the ships.

Another sound was heard as Josiah looked up, gasping when he saw the Armored Titan — the same one who crushed Soren to his death — appear in front of the gate.

Josiah could only watch as the Armored Titan ran through the wall, debris flying as he closed his eyes so the flying debris wouldn't get in his eyes.

When he opened them back up, his eyes widened with shock.

Wall Maria had been breached.

"It's over... I can't go back home. I can never go back home. Soren, Clay, and my mom can't get their lives back. I'm truly alone in this cruel world. Something that I didn't want to happen." Josiah thought.

Where were the Survey Corps? Why weren't they doing their job in killing the Titans? Why weren't they there?

"Perhaps the Survey Corps aren't heroes as I thought." Josiah noted in his head.

It wasn't long before they finally arrived in Trost, a south district within Wall Rose. Trost was filled to the brim with refugees of Shiganshina. The survivors of Wall Maria hadn't even come through yet. The Military Police tried to keep things in order, but with panicked and starving civilians it was chaos.

"Barracks have been prepared for you! First come is first serve!" An officer called, a couple of adults began to push in front of the line and the officer had to break them apart. "Don't push or shove!"

Josiah entered the cold storehouse as there were blankets and a few flimsy pillows. The light brown-haired male wrapped a blanket around himself as he silently cried himself to sleep.

By the next morning, nothing had improved. He decided to go outside and gasped when he saw how many refugees there were in the Trost courtyard. He could see the refugees shared looks of misery and hopelessness.

Josiah ate his loaf of bread, wincing at the stale taste of it. A skirmish in the middle of the courtyard grabbed his attention between the four men caught Josiah's attention. They wrestled and punched each other for a single loaf of bread.

"Why should we give out food to the refugees?" A soldier sneered. "Maybe we should have let the Titans eat up some more people, it'll keep us from starving."

"All this just makes the food shortage even worse." The Garrison soldier continued to complain. Josiah looked over to see a young boy about his age kicking him in the shin sharply.

"What are you doing, stupid kid?" He demanded, swinging his fist forward as another soldier kicked at the boy.

"You have no idea..." The boy muttered, looking up at them. "You've never even seen it! You've never seen the way they eat people..."

The man grits his teeth and started forwards. "Shut up!" He snarled, raising his fist.

"I'm sorry!" A blonde-haired boy with a bowl cut interrupted. "He's just upset because he's hungry. That's why he's being so rude to an adult. I'm r-really sorry!"

"Jeez..." The soldier mumbled. "The only reason you aren't starving is because of us, got it? Even a kid should show gratitude."

Josiah scoffed as he turned away. "Respect is earned, not given as Soren would say. You may have saved us from hell, but in the end, we're still traumatized." He thought.

By the end of the week, all of the Shiganshina refugees had been organised and assigned jobs at any available landfill. There was no news from the other three districts that existed in Wall Maria, and everyone assumed the worst. Food began to lessen and riots broke out in the street.

Due to his age, Josiah couldn't find a permanent place to stay until he enlisted in the military so he mostly was out on the streets. He also couldn't find any good jobs.

"Not like anyone would hire a 10 year old anyhow." Josiah thinks to himself. "I want to go home. I want this all to be a nightmare and I'll wake up back in Shiganshina. I'll have pointless arguments with Clay and Soren would hit us to shut us up."

Josiah sighed as he stared at the ground, thinking back to Soren and Clayton. All of his memories with them. He clenched his fist in anger.

"What did Soren and Clayton do to die like that? We were just kids. Clayton wanted to be apart of the Military Police. Soren wanted to become an artist and explore the outside. Why? Why did they have to die?" Josiah thought, digging his nails into his skin which drew blood.

"Why did my home have to be destroyed?"

Josiah unclenched his fist as he let the blood from his palm drip down. He had made the decision to enlist in the military.

The next year, Josiah stood with the other cadets in his cadet uniform.

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee Corps! I am Keith Shadis, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you bastards. And I'm not here to welcome you at all!" Shadis began.

"Right now, you're mere cattle, fit for nothing but Titan food! No, less than cattle... in three years, we'll take your worthless pieces of crap and train you! Give you the means to fight the Titans. In three years, when you stand before a Titan, will you still be food? Or will you be a noble wall, shielding the King? Or perhaps, one of humanity's glorious soldiers that slay Titans? You will decide!" Shadis finished.

Josiah stood with his hands behind his back and a dead panned expression on his face.

"Clay... wherever you are. I'll live out your dream. I'll rank in the top ten and join the Military Police. I swear it!"

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A/N: The first chapter is finally done! Hope you enjoyed!

And yes, there is a reason why I made Josiah ask himself those questions like Gabi did in season four. You'll just have to find out :)

Word Count: 3140 words.