(02) Flung into action

It took only minutes to undo a century's worth of efforts for peace. Chaos and destruction ensued all over Shiganshina with it's denizens left in despair and fear.

Over on one of the roads of Shiganshina, Eren watched the massive titan kick a hole directly through the hole, allowing a swarm of titans in to wreak havoc over the place and kill as many as possible. Instantly he ran, not towards solace where he would be sure to survive but to his house where his mother was.

Mikasa followed suit and Strauss who was a bit slower to react could only curse as he lagged a bit behind the other two. Inside his heart was thumping, without knowing he was getting faster with every step he took until he almost caught up to the other two.

[Through strenuous physical activity and activation of a bloodline skill, you've gained experience!(x3)]

[Ackerman bloodline has leveled up!]

Strauss paid no attention to the screens that appeared in the corner of his eyes. His sole focus on running as fast as he could.

The trio of children stopped in their tracks abruptly as they took a left turn. In front of them stood a titan, dwarfing them in height immensely. It's facial expression could only be described as ugly. It slowly raised its left hand towards its mouth, revealing an old woman stuck between it. The world seemed to freeze, both figuratively and literaly as Eren, Mikasa and Strauss could only watch and listen in fear. The bone chilling sound of the titan's teeth crunching into the old woman seemed to send a jolt through Strauss as his heart began thumping a tone heavier and a beat quicker than it was already. Seeing an animated titan bite into and eat people was terrifying enough as is, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. The horror was something he would never forget.

"Come on, we'll take a detour!", Strauss practically roared, waking up Eren and Mikasa up from the trance of fear and eliciting worried nods from the two. The three of them instantly turned back and decided to bolt it to the next street, going around where the titan was currently.

They ran, past the street with as much speed as they could muster before making the necessary turn once again. They were almost there. Unfortunately for them a brick came flyintg right at them, causing Strauss to move out the way and once again lagging behind Eren and Mikasa.

They continued running until another obstacle came their way. This time a building came crashing down from the left, threatening to block the entire street they were on. "Strauss!", Eren and Mikasa who were at the front managed to make it past before the pillar hit them but they looked back in worry at Strauss, as it seemed he wouldn't make it past in time.

Time seemed to slow down for Strauss as his eyes focused, casting all distractions aside. He wasn't even paying attention to his heart, which was seemingly banging against his chest as if wanting to break out. The faces of Eren and Mikasa seemed to slowly blur along with their figures. In this current moment, nothing existed to distracted Strauss. All he saw was the path he would take to survive. His brain ran at a faster speed than ever before, in both of his lives, as it analysed every minute detail his eyes took in.

He crouched a bit while still running and suddenly focused every bit of pressure and force he could to the ball of his right foot, leaping upwards and forwards while lifting his other leg. He focused again, this time on his left foot as it found itself on a brick of the still falling rubble. He jumped off of it as hard as he could as the force running through his body transferred from his legs to his core and back, and then finally his arms and hands as he reached as high as he could grabbing hold of another bring and flinging himself over the rubble.

Eren and Mikasa watched in awe as he rose above the fallen building, which even over on it's side was still a few metres tall, but before Strauss even landed he shouted at them, "Keep running!". No words were said as the three of them broke into a sprint once again.

Eren, Mikasa, and Strauss finally reached their house, to find Carla stuck under a pillar. Without the hesitation the three of them immediately began trying to pull the pillar off of her and get her out of there much to her distress. "No! Stop now! I'm done for already but you three can still run away!", she shouted with tears streaming down her face. It was as if she was talking to a brick wall though as her shouts were just ignored.

"Wait, you guys! I'll come help!", they heard a voice from behind them, who they recognised to be Hannes. The older man immediately joined the three children as he began pulling with all his might.

The four struggled for naught however as it didn't budge at all. Eren and Mikasa were too weak and tired out from the sprinting to help enough and Hannes by himself wasn't going to lift it.

'Why the hell am I so fucking?', Strauss thought as he put every fiber of his being into lifting the pillar. He struggled desperately to once again tap into the power burst he experienced earlier however exhaustion proved to be a wall that he could not overcome.

The sudden sound of rumbling footsteps made everyone snap their necks in horror at the approaching titan. It's body was disproportionate, making it appear grotesque. It had blonde hair down to its neck and it had a terrifying smile etched across its face.

"Hannes listen to me please! This pillar isn't going anywhere, and even if it is, it's too late for me! My legs are broken, I won't even be able to run and I'll be too heavy to carry... Please Hannes, take the kids and run!", Carla pleaded from the bottom of her heart.

Hannes was taken aback, as he looked between the approaching titan and Carla who was still stuck under the pillar. "I'm sorry", he muttered as his expression hardened. He swept up Eren, Mikasa and Strauss over his shoulders and then began running the other way.

"No! Go back, we've gotta save my mom!", Eren shouted trying to throw himself out of Hannes' hold and go back. He slammed his fists against Hannes' back as hard as he could in an attempt to free himself but it was to no avail.

Strauss' vision slowly went black around the edges, all noise slowly began to drown out and the last thing he saw before his body went limp was the vision of his adoptive mother being cruelly killed and eaten.

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A/N: damn thats deep. Strauss, who just about managed to finally process the hellhole that would be his future, immediately experienced that hell first hand. No chill for him. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter.

Question: I am planning to have Strauss make one or two allies in this verse, companions who will accompany him to the end. Ride or die's if you would. Is there anyone that you people as the readers would like to see have this kinda role?