The next day was just as boring as the previous one. At least, that's what Lara thought as she sat at the refectory table, all alone, gazing at the ceiling. It was almost late afternoon.
All soldiers were outside, facing the greatest danger they knew, and Lara was there, biting her nails.
The lack of things to do was making her restless, anxious, and most of all, annoyed. Although she was small and malnourished, Lara was a child, with all the energy in her body ready to be expended. Staying still and quiet is not an option for children, even though they are forced to do so many times.
"Why!" thought Lara, tapping her fingers on the table. "Commander Erwin said he was counting on me on the mission. Did he just say that to be nice, or does he really want me to help with something? He seemed to be serious when he said that... What if he's waiting for me to help, but I'm staying here because Levi and Hange don't let me out? I think it's better to obey the Commander, after all, he's the boss of those two. If Erwin said he was counting on me, it means I have to do something! What if he won't let me enlist in the Survey Corps, just because I sat here, doing nothing?! No... This can't happen!"
Determined, Lara dashed out of the refectory and went into a room where she had seen the soldiers get the ODM gears. She started snooping the devices, not understanding a thing about how they worked. When Lara was in the Forest of Giant Trees and found that sword, the blade was already attached and she just had to unscrew the wire that connected it to the rest of the device.
Lara sat down on the floor, grumpy, resting her chin on her knees. She looked around with a sad expression and her sight spotted something. In a far corner of the room, there were some ODM gears fully assembled. In a jump, Lara headed in that direction and began exploring them. She realized that, in fact, they were devices with some defect, like a broken wire or with the box that kept the blades damaged.
But, for her happiness, there were a few swords already assembled, working perfectly. Lara unscrewed two of them, letting them off from the wires that held them together. At first, she thought she wouldn't be able to carry them, but they were incredibly light.
Lara picked up her swords and walked out slowly, peering down the corridors. Furtively, she headed to the HQ main entrance. There were a few soldiers loading some carts, but they all had their backs to her.
As quietly as possible, Lara sneaked off outside the HQ and rushed towards the streets of the abandoned District of Shiganshina.
Hange was walking steadily down the corridor, toward the room where she and Lara had slept. As Hange was about to pass through the door, she said:
"What's up, honey? I'm here to get more blades and I've decided to stop by and see how you are doin–"
Hange stopped in the middle of the room, abruptly. It was empty.
"Lara?" she called, looking around.
Hange walked through the corridors, calling the girl's name, but had no answer. She checked out the refectory and some other rooms that Lara could be exploring.
Nothing.
Hange's heart started to beat faster and her hands were sweating. She rushed to the HQ main entrance, where she spotted Erwin and Levi arriving.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Thank God you're here!"
"What happened?" asked Erwin, who had Titan's blood evaporating from his green cloak.
"It's Lara!" answered Hange.
"What's up with her?" asked Levi, approaching Hange, worried.
"She's gone!" replied Hange, her eyes wide open.
In Lara's mind, her goal was pretty simple: although she had managed to kill a Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees, that wasn't her specialty. So, she thought she would do her best to find something that would be useful to the people inside the Walls, like clothes, tools, or anything else.
Lara didn't deny that she was terrified of walking through those abandoned streets all alone, but she tried to mentalize that, to be a soldier of the Survey Corps, she would need to face her fears. Of course Lara didn't want to bump into a Titan, but if that happened, at least she would have the swords (that's why she decided to get them).
Fortunately, Lara didn't encounter any Titans as she cautiously walked through the alleys and streets of the District. All the houses and stores had a somber atmosphere. It seemed that the population, in their desperation to evacuate the District, had looted many businesses, leaving broken glass in almost every street.
In every store Lara passed by, she went in and explored to see if she could find anything, but everything was practically empty and the food was rotten.
The afternoon sun's rays lit up the roofs of the houses as Lara entered a warehouse that was almost at the end of the street she was walking on. The place was a mess, with overturned cabinets and broken chairs. She went behind the counter and noticed the cash register was open, completely empty.
When Lara turned around, she noticed something under her feet. On the wooden floor, there was a small iron handle, very discreet. That caught her eye and she bent down, tugging on the handle, opening it like some sort of trapdoor.
The hatch opened into a hole about 50 cm deep. Inside it, there were several mini-kegs, each with a lid. Lara lifted the lid of the first mini-keg and was surprised at what she saw.
Salt. The mini-keg was filled with coarse salt, all the way to the top. Lara found that interesting and instinctively put her hand inside the mini-keg. To her surprise, there was something hidden under the layers of salt. When Lara pulled "it" out, she couldn't believe her eyes.
It was meat. And of excellent quality.
Due to all the inconvenience of the attacks of the Colossal and Armored Titans, the economic situation inside the Walls became complete chaos, and practically everything had become more expensive, especially meat. Lara herself couldn't remember the last time she had eaten some.
And there, in front of her, was a hidden treasure. She started to rummage inside the other mini-kegs and saw that in all of them, there were many pieces of meat, all being preserved by the salt.
That was too good to be true. Someone needed to know this information right away! All that meat would feed many families.
Lara dashed off, heading for the warehouse entrance, but when she looked at the door, her entire body froze.
A Titan was staring at her.
It was a little taller than the warehouse doorway, about three-meter tall, and it stared at the girl with a creepy smile. Without thinking, Lara started to walk backward, slowly. Her vision blurred and she felt as if in a dream.
Then, as if something called inside her, she shook her head, waking up from the trance she had been in. Lara held both swords firmly and faced the Titan.
"I gotta do it," she thought, "I can't let them down."
She trembled and quickly looked around, thinking of some sort of plan that would help her finish that Titan, who was already approaching, slowly. The warehouse had a very high ceiling, which allowed the Titan to stand completely upright.
With a sudden movement, the Titan leaned towards Lara, its mouth gaping, ready to swallow her. In a flash, she jumped up onto the counter and gave thanks for all those years of "training" climbing the trees at the orphanage.
The Titan was sort of stunned by the escape of its victim, and searched for her, looking around. Quickly, Lara ran over the counter and jumped, till she got behind the creature. Then, she remembered that in the Forest of Giant Trees, she had cut the tendons from the Titan's heels, and came to the conclusion it was a good tactic to paralyze the enemy.
Lara crouched towards it, swords ready. She took a deep breath and with a single blow, swung them both, slashing the Titan's feet. It landed with a thud over some tables and chairs, completely confused.
With a scream of fury, Lara jumped on the Titan and delivered a precise blow to its nape. It didn't take long for steam to come out of the creature, and it began to evaporate.
Lara got off the Titan and started to walk backward, not believing what she had just done.
"I-I..." she whispered, with wide eyes, "I did it... I killed a Titan..."
Lara tripped over some of the rubble spread across the floor. As she turned to walk out the doorway, she bumped into something, or rather, someone.
This someone was Hange.
"LARA!" she shouted, shaking the girl by the shoulders. "What are you doing?! Why did you leave the Headquarters?! Levi and I had forbidden you to step outside!"
Lara was speechless. She stared at Hange, who had a look of pure worry, with tears coming out of her eyes. Suddenly, Lara gave a big smile and started laughing nervously.
"What is it?!" exclaimed Hange, still shaking her. "Why are you laughing?! Lara, talk to me! Are you okay?!"
"I-I..." stuttered Lara, "I killed... I killed a Titan..."
"You did what?!" exclaimed Hange, looking around, searching for the creature.
"Hange..." said Levi, slowly. The Squad Leader turned towards him, who was standing in the warehouse doorway, with his finger pointing at something inside. She shook her head, as if to say "What's going on?" and Levi stared back at her with an expression of shock.
"There is... A dead Titan inside here," he answered in astonishment.
Hange got up in a jump, heading for the doorway, followed by Erwin. Some soldiers who had accompanied them exchanged looks, confused. Hange, Levi, and Erwin's heads peered into the warehouse and stared at the evaporating body of a Titan.
Levi and Hange looked at each other, mouths agape. Erwin turned to Lara, with a big smile on his face.