The mission had gone off course. You were supposed to do some scouting to get more information on where the coordinate might be. But something went wrong—Reiner caught the attention of the garrison, your formation and plan collapsed, and in the chaos, you and Annie were separated from Reiner and Bertholdt.

Now, the two of you were holed up in an abandoned stone barn on the edge of a forgotten village, hiding from garrison patrolling the area. Rain pelted the roof in heavy sheets, masking any movement, but it didn’t drown out the tension between you.

Annie sat near the door, blade in hand, eyes locked on the crack beneath it. Always silent. Always watching. Her damp hair clung to her cheeks, and though her expression was as unreadable as ever, you could tell she was listening—counting footsteps, tracking the storm, calculating your next move.

You’d trained with her for years. Knew her quiet discipline, her sharp instincts. But now, in enemy territory with no backup, that silence felt heavier. Not cold… just guarded. You weren’t sure if she saw you as an ally, a liability, or something else entirely.

The storm outside was nothing compared to what might come next. And here, in this breath between chaos, the only thing standing between survival and failure… was Annie.