🌩 Chapter Seven: The Wall Cracks
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[The Day The Sky Cracked.]
The air smelled faintly of bread and soap.
When Eren and Mikasa returned to the house, Carla Yeager was hanging linens by the side of the porch, her sleeves rolled up, hair tied back, the same warm smile she always wore whenever the kids came back from wandering.
"Oh, welcome back!" she called, patting her apron clean. "You just missed Grisha and Kaelen. Finally doing some father-son time."
Eren blinked. "Really?"
"Yes. Your father's been saying Kaelen needs more purpose. The clinic might suit him—safe, reliable, respected. You travel. Meet people. And it's not dangerous, like…"
She trailed off.
Then looked at them both.
"What about you two? Have you thought about what you want to do when you grow up?"
Mikasa answered immediately.
"A housewife."
Eren coughed. "Since when?"
"I like keeping the house clean," she said simply. "And I like helping."
Eren rolled his eyes.
Before he could speak, Mikasa cut him off:
"Eren wants to join the Survey Corps."
Carla froze.
The smile died.
"What?"
Eren narrowed his eyes at Mikasa. "You weren't supposed to—"
"You want to what?!" Carla's voice rose sharply.
Eren's mouth opened, but Carla was already stepping closer.
"Eren, absolutely not. The Corps? That's—That's suicide! What kind of—how could you even think—?"
"Because I'm not a coward!" Eren snapped. "Because I don't want to live my whole life behind Walls like some animal in a cage!"
Carla's hands trembled. "You'd throw your life away—like those poor soldiers today?"
"They weren't fools! They chose to fight! And someone has to pick up where they left off! Otherwise, what's the point of their sacrifice?!"
"You don't understand what you're saying—"
"No, you don't understand, Mom!" he shouted. "I don't want to die not knowing what the world looks like. I don't want to live and die ignorant."
There was a long silence.
The wind blew softly through the hanging clothes.
Carla looked at her son, face red, hands shaking, voice still echoing off the walls.
Her voice was small now.
"Only a fool would risk their life for something that can't be reached."
Eren's response was quiet.
"Then living like cattle is even more foolish."
Carla looked down, blinking fast.
Then turned to Mikasa.
"Please… watch over him. Keep him safe."
Mikasa nodded.
Eren didn't say anything else.
...
The tension in the house lingered like smoke.
Eren paced. Arms crossed. Jaw clenched.
Kaelen would usually be here—leaning against the wall, muttering something sarcastic or dropping some cryptic line about how the world outside would probably eat them alive. Sometimes he'd tell stories—old, strange ones about deserts, stars, cities made of iron. None of them were written down.
But Kaelen was gone.
Again.
"I'm going to find Armin," Eren said, grabbing his coat.
Mikasa raised a brow. "He's probably reading."
"Exactly."
...
They found him near the back of the village, by the empty fountain.
He wasn't alone.
Three boys had cornered him, jeering.
"Trying to escape again, heretic?" one of them barked.
Armin stumbled back, books clutched to his chest.
"What're you gonna do, Armin? Fly away with your fancy ideas?"
Eren stepped forward. "Hey! Leave him alone!"
The boys turned.
"Oh, look. It's the cage-breaker."
"Want to go outside too, freak?"
"You wanna die just like the rest of the losers?"
They advanced on him.
Until Mikasa appeared.
Silent.
Staring.
The bullies paused.
Then backed away.
"She's here…"
One of them muttered a curse and they all scattered.
Eren dusted off Armin's coat.
"Seriously? Again?"
Armin looked embarrassed. "I just said people should prepare to leave the city. That we can't rely on the Walls forever."
"Apparently, that's illegal thinking," Eren muttered.
"They're just scared," Mikasa said.
"Fear makes people stupid," Armin replied.
They sat on the edge of the fountain.
"It's not just them," Armin said. "It's everyone. They're living day-to-day. Waiting for the next shoe to drop. It's like they've already accepted that one day, the Walls will fall… and they'd rather not think about it."
"I don't want to wait to die," Eren said.
"Neither do I," Armin nodded. "That's why I read. Because I have to believe there's more out there. Forests are bigger than cities. Water that stretches for days. Birds that never come down."
Mikasa didn't speak.
But she looked at them both. Carefully.
...
Then, a low rumble.
The ground vibrated beneath their feet.
"An earthquake?" Armin asked.
Eren stood. "No. That's not—"
AÂ boom.The sky cracked open.The air shifted.Birds scattered in all directions.
They turned to the Wall.
And saw it.
A massive hand curled over the top of Wall Maria.
Then another.
And slowly—impossibly—a head emerged.Steam hissed from its skinless face.Empty sockets stared down.Its breath was wind. Its gaze was death.
Eren couldn't move.
The Wall.
The Wall was smaller than it.
He heard someone screaming.
Then realized it was him.
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[Author: I've been thinking of leaving something at the end, I did a glimpse of the future with Jean, but that's more of me trying to get the word count to my usual...Do you prefer Short Stories or should I stop with them?]