prologue
It was a warm summer day in 2025. The streets of Dortmund were crowded, children laughed, somewhere music played. I was sitting with my parents in the city center, we ate ice cream, one of those rare hours when everything felt peaceful. No alarms, no stress. Just the three of us.
Then the bang came. Not an ordinary sound, but a thunderclap that ripped the air. The ground vibrated beneath my feet, followed by a dull rumble. Windows shattered, the shockwave swept across the square. People screamed. Metal buckled, cars toppled to the side.
“What was that?” I cried, my voice trembling.
“A Titan! Under the table, quick!” my father shouted. Sirens wailed, phones beeped, alarm apps shrieked at once. A chorus of panic. Then the earth began to shake. The building above us groaned, walls cracked.
“Get out now!” my father yelled. We ran, stumbled, the ground vibrating. I only heard crashing. A heavy strike, then a blinding light. The ground gave way.
My father threw himself in front of me and shoved me to the side. I hit the asphalt hard, dust in my eyes, my ears ringing. When I looked up, the house was nothing but a pile of rubble and steel.
“Mama, Papa!” I ran back. A steel beam lay across them, too heavy for me alone. I pushed against it; sweat, blood and dust stuck to my hands. Nothing. Not a millimeter.
“Run, Sarah!” my father shouted, hoarse. “You cannot save us!”
“I’ll get help!” I panted, tears in my throat. “Please hold on!” Then the ground trembled again. Steps, huge and rhythmic. Each jolt went through my chest. I turned and saw him.
At the end of the street he loomed like a shadow over the world. A Titan. His breath burned the air. Smoke and fire hung in the streets. The city looked as if it were on fire.
“We have to get out of here!” I screamed, but I was frozen. My legs would not obey. Out of nowhere came a metallic hiss. A grappling hook cut through the smoke.
A man landed beside me, his coat fluttering, his eyes hard. “Move, we have to get out of here!” he shouted.
“I’m not leaving them here!” I yelled, my hands still on the beam.
“Sarah!” my mother begged. “Go. Listen to us. Run!”
The hunter grabbed my arm. “I am Hanno, regional squad leader. That is an order.” I shook my head, trembling. “I cannot. I cannot—”
“Now!” He ripped me up, almost violently. We ran. Debris crashed behind us, people screamed. Then the sound I will never forget: flesh being crushed. I turned, too late. The Titan had reached the house.
One last look at my parents, then the shadow as it bent over the rubble. Smoke and dust swallowed everything.
The sound of helicopters drowned out the chaos. We jumped over rubble, dust and blood. Heat hit my face. Hanno pulled me to safety while the city fell behind us.
I looked back. Smoke, fire, death. I swore to myself: if it is the last thing I do, I will destroy every Titan.
End of Prologue
This fanfiction is an independent work by Sarah A. Becker.
Based on the universe of Attack on Titan, with original lore and characters.
Any unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.
