18 - Strings(cut)

The wind whispered against the window, a gentle lullaby in the stillness of the night. Anja lay in bed, her mind adrift in the hazy space between wakefulness and dreams..

She turned, the sheets twisting around her, the pillow cool against her cheek. Sleep tugged at her, insistent, but something held her back. A feeling, a prickling at the edge of her consciousness.

The room was quiet, the shadows still. But the silence felt heavy, pregnant with something unseen, something waiting.

Anja's breath hitched, her heart a sudden drum in her chest. She lay frozen, every nerve straining, every sense heightened.

A sound, a whisper, a breath that wasn't her own. It came from everywhere and nowhere, a presence that filled the room, the air, her very lungs.

“Aa-n-j-a…”

It whispered, a hint of a trill in its tone.

She wanted to move, to sit up, to look. But her body was lead, her limbs heavy, unresponsive. Panic clawed at her throat, a scream that couldn't escape.

Something brushed against her foot, a feather-light touch that sent shivers racing up her spine. It moved, a slow, deliberate crawl, up her leg, her thigh, her stomach.

Anja's heart was a hummingbird, frantic, desperate. She tried to jerk away, to thrash, to fight, but she was paralyzed, a prisoner in her own skin.

The thing was at her face now. It hovered there, a breath away, a shadow in the darkness.

And then, pain. Searing, blinding, all-consuming. It lanced through her right eye, a white-hot needle that pierced to the very core of her being.

Anja screamed, but there was no sound. She writhed, but there was no movement. There was only the pain, the invasion, the sickening sense of something burrowing, twisting, violating.

It lasted an eternity, a heartbeat, a single, shuddering breath. And then…

Anja's eyes flew open, the morning sun a blinding glare. She lay in bed, her heart racing, her body drenched in sweat. The nightmare's grip on her mind was still fresh, the sensation of the unseen horror lingering.

She stumbled out of bed, her feet carrying her to the mirror almost of their own accord. Her hands shook as she leaned in close, examining her face, her eyes. Those vibrant green eyes stared back at her, wide and frightened, but unchanged…

Just another nightmare...

In the reflection, something caught her attention, two little shapes in the periphery of the mirror. Anja's gaze darted to the window, her breath catching in her throat.

There, on the sill, sat those two birds.

They were unnaturally still, their eyes open and staring, their bodies rigid. Like small statues.

Dead?

Then the door to her room burst open with a bang.

Moblit stood there, his face grave, his eyes wide.

"Wolf, you need to come with me. Now."

Anja stared at the steaming remains of Sawney and Beane, her mind struggling to comprehend what she was seeing. The Titans were reduced to nothing more than bones, their remains dissolving in the morning light.

Around her, Military Police soldiers swarmed the area, their voices a low, tense murmur as they investigated the scene. The research tent was being dismantled, the equipment packed away.

Moblit stood beside her, his face a mask of disbelief.

"Who could have done this?"

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Note: It’s finally here, life caught up to me and I’ve been busy. This one is a bit longer than the usual chapter, there’s just too much going on, and I had to cut a lot. There are tons of things that didn’t make it here, a lot having to do with side characters that are going through their own separate stories from the main plot. Let me know if you’d like to see a bonus side chapter of sorts, that delves more into them (Sasha, Ymir, Christa, Marco and Jean) or if you want me to just focus next week on continuing the main plot, thank you for reading!