A/N: So, everyone, another chapter is here! The new season of Attack on Titan is FINALLY here and oh my God what a crazy episode that was! By the way, that scene where Teresa wakes up from an explosion...those who've read the manga probably know what this was, those who haven't...you'll find out ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Attack on Titan universe and the Maze Runner characters

Night had fallen, the moon creating silver spots on the dark waters of the river. They didn't know for how much time they had been travelling already; it could be an hour or three hours, for all they knew. Time had stopped for them after the ordeal they had lived in Shiganshina, the destruction, the tragedies, the loss of a huge part of humanity, of family, of friends, of soldiers. Most of the passengers of the three boats had fallen into a restless sleep, trying to get at least some moments of rest before the next stage…the stage of arriving in Wall Rose, probably Trost District…the stage of trying to settle down in whatever conditions awaited them…the stage of slowly picking up their pieces if they could.

That wasn't the case, though, for the group of six friends, out of which only two were sleeping: Leo, who was using his sister's lap as a pillow, and Minho, whose head was leaning back against the wall of the boat. Eve stared in front of her with a haunted expression, her hand absentmindedly caressing Leo's shoulder in an attempt to soothe him and help him have a calm sleep; her eyes focused on Thomas and Newt, who had stood up several moments ago and now leaned against the railing, looking into the distance. She wanted to go to them, listen to their pain and comfort them as best as she could, but she felt completely useless at the moment; what were the right words to say when they had just lost their families? Her grip on her brother tightened involuntarily; she had no idea where their parents were, on a boat or trapped in Shiganshina—though she doubted that they would search for them even if they were on a boat—, Leo was the only one she had left, they always had only each other, she didn't even want to think about losing him, about the fact that both of them would be dead right now had it not been for Thomas and Minho. Eve sighed and threw a side glance towards Teresa, who wasn't sleeping either, curled against her aunt as she was and also looking concerned towards their two grieving friends.

Their relatives were unable to sleep as well, focused on them and making sure they were calm, occasionally looking towards each other and exchanged hushed words and worried glances. Now they had to act as guardians for the whole group: for Thomas, Newt, Eve and Leo, who were without their families and needed to be looked after. They had known them since their friendship had started, when they were six years old and with Leo joining them two years later; they had laughed at the fun they had and at the small explorations they loved to do and at how they supported each other…and now their whole childhood had been overthrown. It was up to them, to Aunt Mary and Mr. and Mrs. Parker to take care of all six of them.

Thomas and Newt, still leaning against the railing of the boat and staring at the wide river before them, were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts and mourning in their own way. While Newt had silent tears running down his face, trembling and grabbing the railing like a life-line, so tightly that his knuckles were white, Thomas had a fiery look in his eyes and a dark expression that clearly reflected the pain and rage equally boiling inside him. He couldn't help but think about his parents and his baby brother in their last moments, their panic and their terror; he tried to remember them as they were, loving and kind, but he couldn't. The only thought crossing his mind was them being devoured by Titans, his home completely destroyed and his father trapped under the ruins…and when a sob coming from Newt brought him back to reality, he broke the silence by addressing him with a steady voice.

"Newt, if we drown in our tears it's over! We have to be strong now, to help our friends until it will be time for us to join the Military and kill every Titan in our path!"

Newt nodded, understanding that this was Thomas's way to express his sadness: the fact that they would become soldiers and they would have their chance at revenge. Or, at least, Thomas will have his chance at revenge, he thought; after all it was his friend's decision to be a member of the Scouting Regiment, meaning that he would be able to fight Titans in their territory. But I will join the Garrisons and become a good soldier…like Mom and Dad, who died to protect the people of Shiganshina. I will do the same…and make them proud.

Of course, the fear that what had happened in Wall Maria would happen in the other walls too couldn't leave the ten-year-old blond alone. The Titans had already invaded the districts of Wall Maria, who said that they wouldn't destroy Wall Rose and Wall Sina too? Still, knowing that now wasn't the time to make such thoughts, Newt simply nodded again and squeezed Thomas's shoulder. After all, the hope to avenge and make proud those you loved and lost is always stronger and better than succumbing to the hopelessness you feel at the knowledge that you'll never see them again.

She was running all alone through the deserted Shiganshina District. Everything around her was in ruins, dead bodies were piling in the corners and making her feel sick and Titans lurked wherever she was looking, staring at her hungrily with those creepy smirks on their faces. She tried not to think about them, not to think about anything and focus on what she had to do: reach safety! Once she would find her friends and her aunt everything would be alright again and nothing would happen to them.

Suddenly there was a violent explosion that made her fall down and hurt her knees. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't even move, no matter how hard she tried; it was like she was paralyzed, making her panic and close her eyes tightly as silent tears ran down her cheeks and the ground shook.

Teresa woke up startled from her disturbed sleep, her face bathed in cold sweat and her body trembling slightly. At first she didn't remember where she was, but when she took a look around and saw her friends, the grown-ups and strangers scattered around the small room, she realized she was in one of the shelter rooms of Trost District, where the Garrisons had placed the refugees from Shiganshina when they arrived, a few days ago. The black-haired girl breathed deeply in an attempt to shake the nightmare away, only to find out what had woken her: the fact that the ground had shaken a little in reality and this fact had found itself in her dream.

Curious and nervous at the same time—considering that the memory of the explosion and the huge Titan that had destroyed Wall Maria—she stood up carefully, taking care not to wake up the others, who were sleeping restlessly as it was. Teresa slid out of the shelter and her blue eyes travelled all around, trying to spot the source of the small disturbance…until she spotted steam rising from the forest that lay nearby.

Ground shaking…steam…just like it was before the…the invasion, the little girl thought as terror rose inside her. At that moment, though, as she wondered whether she should wake her friends, her aunt or go and explore on her own, a hand on her shoulder scared her and she left a small scream, although she calmed down instantly when she saw that it was only her aunt, looking concerned at her.

"Teresa? What are you doing outside so late?" she whispered, concerned by her niece's wild expression and lack of sleep. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yes…and I felt the ground shaking, that's what woke me up. Aunt Mary, what is this?" Teresa pointed towards the steam: most of it had faded already, but it was still visible. "Isn't it…weird? That's what happened…in Shiganshina….isn't it?"

"Oh, no, my dear, I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about," the older woman comforted her and caressed her hair. "Surely the Garrisons would have warned us already if Titans were near. Apparently some couldn't sleep either and went to spend some time in the forest and lit a fire to lead them in the dark."

"But…But shouldn't we…talk to someone, just in case?"

"No, no, Teresa, don't be scared. You are still affected by what you lived—it's completely normal. Believe me, everything is alright."

Still not fully convinced, but realizing that she had no other option but trust her aunt, Teresa sighed and followed her back inside the shelter room, where she laid down in her previous spot, next to Eve. Her friend had rolled in her sleep and now she was curled against her back; it seemed to be the only way the six children could find some comfort in their sleep these days: fall asleep cuddled next to each other, as a reassurance that they were all still here.

We're all still here…Everything will be alright…Teresa repeated mentally like a mantra to gain faith, although, in the end, it didn't do much to give her calmer dreams for the rest of the night.

One year later

The large group of people ready to leave for Shiganshina had started to line up to receive the last orders from the military and start the long way to the Titan-taken district. The friends and family members who would stay behind was bidding the last goodbyes and giving the final piece of advice, the same terror and agony marking everyone's expression, for they realized how small the hopes of returning were. Some were also looking furiously at the soldiers and it was obvious that they were trying very hard not to attack them verbally and physically for deciding to risk this mission: enlisting a very large number of the refugees having arrived in Trost to try and retake the regions lost to Titans as an attempt to confront the food shortage that continued plaguing the residents of Wall Rose even one year after the invasion.

Minho's father was one of those enlisted, having agreed with his wife and Teresa's aunt that he would go with the others in order to help and they would stay to look after the children. He knelt in front of his son and placed a hand on his shoulder, making Newt shiver involuntary: this was exactly how his parents were when they explained him why they wouldn't come with him, but he quickly pushed away the fear that his friend would lose a parent as well—they had all been through too many losses already to handle another one.

"Don't be scared, son, everything will be alright," he said, looking at Minho with the black eyes the boy had inherited. "Don't get into trouble. Look after your mother and you'll see I will be back before you realize I'm gone."

Doubt was clear in Minho's eyes and it was obvious to everyone that he wanted to answer that no one knew that; that the outcome of today's mission was undetermined and so promises of return sounded empty. However, it was also obvious to everyone that Minho didn't want to appear as frightened in front of his father; that he wanted to stay strong for his parents' sake and that he needed to hold on to the hope that his father would come back safe and sound. And so he nodded with the expression of a grown-up, returned the tight hug his father gave him and watched him as he retreated to join the others who had been assigned on this mission.

But no matter how much a child hopes to see his parent again, no matter how much everyone hopes that the situation will improve, reality always has a wicked way to prove them wrong. Not only were the lost agricultural territories not won back, but to say that the losses were tragic would be a huge understatement. Weeks after their departure for Shinanghina the few survivors returned: injured, disappointed, frustrated and being barely a hundred out of the two hundred and fifty thousand who had left.

Unfortunately, Minho's father wasn't one of them.

"Everyone leaves," Leo sullenly commented and sighed loudly as he leaned his back against a wall, his amber brown eyes focused on Trost's main square that lay in front of him, filled with people who went to their jobs, soldiers maintaining order, crying children and parents who stood in the line to get some food. His older sister stared worriedly at him and then at Minho, who was doing his best to comfort his sobbing mother, rubbing her back. Leo's insecurity was clear to everyone; no matter how smart he was for his age, the loss of his home, his parents' indifference and disappearance during the Fall of Shiganshina and now Mr. Parker's death had struck him hard.

"Not everyone, little one," Teresa smiled gently at him and briefly caressed his shoulder, remembering her aunt's words a year ago. "We're still here, we have each other: you, me, Thomas, Eve, Minho and Newt. We'll stay together, I promise."

"Teresa's right." Newt nodded, although his eyes were also locked at Minho: now literally everyone of their group had lost family members and the future was unclear to all of them: the six of them were pretty much the only steady thing they had right now.

"So what do we do now?"

"What we had said long before this whole mess started!" Minho's steady voice answering Thomas's question startled them: he was calm, his face clear of tears and with a determined expression. "We'll go to the military and join the branch we want and free humanity from the Titans!"

"Of course!" Eve exclaimed, inspired by her friend's words. "It's been our plan since we were seven and now people need us more than ever: new soldiers who will help! Next year it will be time!"

"And if anyone here says they're not scared I'm going to kick them! We're all scared, hell, I'm scared too." Newt said with a hint of anger, seeing them all willing to suppress their fear in order to give courage to the others. "But don't forget something my parents used to say."

"And what's that?" Leo wanted to know.

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human."

"And don't worry about your brother, dear." Aunt Mary approached them and spoke to Eve with a loving smile. "Julia and I will be happy to look after him."

"Look after him?" the little girl repeated, her gaze travelling from the older woman to Leo, who seemed equally perplexed.

"Well, since he will be only ten next year and therefore unable to join the military—"

"Unable?!" Leo exclaimed frustrated, now understanding what Teresa's aunt wanted to say. "It was my plan to go to the military too; true, I will join a bit earlier than expected but right now they need everyone who's willing to help and I won't leave my sister!"

"Leo, I understand you want to be close to her, but it will be too harsh for someone your age to go through all this hard training and the dangers."

"I'm aware of the dangers, Ms. Evans, and I won't back down. Besides, don't you think that, if anyone should take this decision, it's Eve and me?"

Two pairs of eyes looked towards the girl in question, who suddenly found herself facing a difficult dilemma. On the one hand was the wish to keep her brother safe from all threats and surely he would be much safer under the care of Aunt Mary and Minho's mother. On the other hand was her wish to be with Leo and look after him herself, not wanting to get separated from him after everything they had lived; not to mention that Leo himself wanted to become a soldier and help confront the current situation and she thought she had no right to take this away from him. She looked at Leo, whose gaze was pleading her to take him with her; then she looked at Aunt Mary, who told her silently that she would care about Leo like a mother: and she took her decision.

I can't abandon Leo, no matter how much they will look after him. I can't do that to him, I can't be like our parents.

"Leo's coming with us."

A/N: So, another chapter has reached its end :) Stau tuned until the next one ;)