Humanity's Future

The Plus One

Rachel's P.O.V

   "I don't want to alarm you, but I believe we're being followed."

   Jean and Sasha whipped their heads around to look at me, with matching looks of shock.

   "What?!"  Jean cried indignantly, bringing his horse closer to mine. Sasha did the same on my opposite side, until we were all galloping side-by-side.

   "The person has impressive skills when handling their horse– I've been experimenting with my steed, and it seems whenever I abruptly slow or increase my pace, I breifly hear a fourth pair of hooves before the sound disappears."

   "So...?"  Sasha asked, and I turned my head to face her when she continued.  "Does that mean they're matching your speed?"

"Precisely."  I replied, nodding.  "It seems as though they either match the speed of my horse, or one of your's."

   "So should we try and suprise them?"  Jean questioned, turning in his saddle to peer behind him.  "There aren't a lot of places to hide out here– it's an open plain."

   "But there are small groups of trees, remember."  Sasha stated, glancing around,  "These plains aren't as empty as the ones outside Wall Maria."

   "Sasha's right."  I agreed, keeping my gaze in front of me even though my instincts screamed at me to take flight and look for the one who was following us.  I took a deep breath and spared a quick glance at Jean and Sasha.  "We will do what Jean suggested: try to catch the unknown person by surprise.  We will stop to water the horses up ahead, and when we do, I will scout the surrounding area for them by air."

   Jean and Sasha nodded, and the three of us took refuge at a small grove with a natural stream that trickled slowly across the ground.  Jean nodded toward me as I spread my wings, feeling my feet leave the ground as I flapped my feathered appendages in rhythm.

   The wind combed through my hair as I narrowed my eyes, hovering in place while scanning the ground.  When nothing strange crossed my vision, I sighed, feeling the heaviness set into my wings.

   "Rachel!"  I startled slightly when Jean's voice reached my ears, and quickly descended to the ground.  Once I reached the two, my wings remained in an upright position when I spotted a third figure behind them.  They turned to face me, and it took a moment before my wings dropped in confusion, recognizing the face.

   "Kaiden?!"

~~~~

   "So you came here because you were curious about what we were doing, and because you were bored," Jean deadpanned, crossing his arms.  Kaiden had revealed this to be the reason he had been following us.  I shook my head, still disbelieving of his antics.

   "And for the tea, too."  Kaiden added absently.  "There's more out here that I can get for free– that stuff's expensive in the walls."

   "I feel like we should take his horse and leave him here."  Sasha stated, sitting cross-legged on the ground off to my right with a potato in hand.

   "I'm not entirely against that proposal."  I stated firmly, staring intently into Kaiden's eyes.  Half of his face remained covered by the cloth, and his hair was tied back into a low ponytail.  I remained skeptical of his true intentions– he had explained they had plenty of people inside the walls to deal with the current problem, and that the Survey Corps weren't exactly welcoming.

   "Look, I'll be wandering out here with or without you guys." Kaiden stated boldly, to which I shook my head.

"Sasha, Jean, come with me." Turning and striding a far distance from Kaiden, I turned to face the two Survey Corp members in front of me. "Though his reasons aren't very sound, I believe we should allow him to come with us to monitor him."

"I guess we can do that." Sasha nodded, albeit hesitantly. Jean huffed, shifting from one foot to the other as his eyes constantly moved between me, Sasha, and Kaiden.

"I don't like him." He uttered, voice low and quiet. I set a hand on his shoulder, not needing to voice my agreement as the three of us approached Kaiden once more.

"You may stay with us." I summarized, while Sasha and Jean remained silent. The two made themselves comfortable on a fallen log while I stood in front of them, thinking over our game plan. "It's a risky move, wandering around out here with such a small group. We need to establish our traveling route, and work our way across the plains."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Kaiden voiced, and he turned toward me.

"Spark was taken by a Shifter. Judging by their stealth and efficiency, I would guess that Reiner and Bertoldt aren't the culprits. This person was experienced." I replied, feeling anger tighten in my chest as I thought about the events. "We need to find wherever he is hiding."

"You can fly for a bit, can't you?" Jean asked. "Even if it's for a little while, wouldn't that be enough for you to see far in every direction?"

"Yes. That will certainly help– but I can only maintain flight for a few minutes at most." My shoulders sagged slightly, causing the top of my folded wings to dip toward the ground. "No amount of practice or exercise will change that."

"Why don't we start with villages?" Sasha posed, and I glanced at her in surprise. "The person must've stayed somewhere, and that means they left tracks. No matter how skilled you are, you always unintentionally leave something behind."

"That's a great idea, Sasha." I said, lost in thought as I stared up at the sky through an opening in the treetops. "Let's set off, then."

"Hold on." I turned and faced Kaiden, who tilted his head. "Villages aren't inhabited outside the walls."

"Yes, this is common knowledge." Jean snapped, rolling his eyes.

"I know that." Kaiden stated, rolling his eyes. "But I've encountered one that does have people."

"You have?!" His revelation shocked me. How is this possible, and the Survey Corps are unaware?

"Where is it?" Sasha asked quickly, getting closer to Kaiden as he slowly backed away.

"Calm down! It's quite a ways west of here, though, way out of the path of the Survey Corps usual mission paths."

I nodded in thought, absorbing this new information. It is unusual for an entire village to thrive outside the walls. Could this be where the Shifter is taking refuge?

"Well then," I finally conceded, nodding toward Kaiden, "lead the way."