Word Count: 1,084

Zin shot her 3D gear’s grappling hook into the next tree and tautened her abdominal muscles as she was jerked forward by the hips, right on her friend Walt’s tail. They were training in the forested obstacle course, looking for the giant wooden dummies that represented the titans that they might one day face.

Walt had broken away from the rest of the trainees, looking for an opportunity to take down a target before anyone else had gotten to it, hoping to get more points for it. Zin had followed to act as his support.

A giant wooden dummy suddenly came into view beyond the next few trees, and Walt changed course. He dove down at the target and, using his twin blades, sliced a large portion out of the cushion that represented the target’s weak spot. Seconds later, Zin followed suit, though the section she removed was much shallower than Walt’s. The smell of dusty fabric mingled with that of moist earth and moldering leaves momentarily.

Not deep enough, Zin cursed silently as she glanced back over her shoulder to assess the damage she had done. Unlike Walt, she lacked the strength to finish off a titan. The only way she could make up for it was to approach at a much faster speed. But if I go much faster than this, I’ll probably hit a tree! she thought despairingly. She grit her teeth in bitter frustration as she swung through the trees in her 3D gear. No… I can’t give up. If I don’t take the risk, I’ll never make it as a soldier!

The blue-haired girl released a short stream of compressed gas from her canister and was boosted forward. The wind whistled in her ears and whipped through her streaming hair as she flew past Walt. She shot wires into tree after tree, keeping her eyes squinted against the cold wind. Suddenly, a second target came into view below her and to the left. “There!” she shouted, adjusting the angle of her gear and releasing the gas once again. She sharply changed direction and soared down to the target. In a split second, her blades passed deep through the cushion on the nape of the target’s neck, and she blew past it. She looked over her shoulder to see if she had succeeded.

“Zin! Watch out!” Walt called from behind.

Before Zin could react, she slammed into a tree and her vision went black.

…

“Zin! Zin! Wake up! Zin!”

“Whuh…?” Zin asked groggily. She lifted a hand to the side of her head; it felt wet. She looked around; Walt was supporting her, bracing his legs against the tree that they were both anchored to. “How long was I out…?”

“Only a few seconds. You’re bleeding. You’re lucky you didn’t crack your skull!” Walt scolded. “You were going way too fast.”

“But I did it,” Zin retaliated triumphantly. “I killed my first titan!”

“It was just a dummy, you idiot! Come on… You probably have a concussion. And uh, you're bleeding pretty bad.”

Zin reached up to touch her hand and was surprised to see it covered in shockingly red blood. “Whoa. I don’t feel so good,” she said faintly as the worst headache of her life washed over her.

Even when she tried her best, it sometimes wasn’t good enough. She didn’t have any natural talents to fall back on; she wasn’t strong like Walt. All she was good at was talking to people, and she didn’t think a titan would be willing to listen. She wobbled dangerously, but pushed Walt’s arm away when he tried to help steady her.

“Come on, you can’t use your gear like this,” Walt insisted. “We’ll have to walk back…”

“Hey! Are you guys okay?!” a third voice called from above. Colin was standing on a thick tree branch several yards away.

“No, Zin slammed into a tree!” Walt shouted back. Zin jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and shot him a glare.

“He didn’t need to know that,” she hissed, hurt that her friend had betrayed her. Walt didn't respond; he just looked concerned.

“You keep her there! I’ll go back and get a med team to come get her!” Colin replied. Without waiting for an answer, he turned around, fired his grappling hooks, and swung out of view.

Zin let out a long and heavy sigh. She’d never hear the end of this little accident back in the mess hall. She was sure it wouldn’t earn her any points with the higher-ups, either.

***

“You know, Zin, you work really well in a team,” Walt said later that day in the mess hall.

Zin was resting her aching, bandaged head against one hand, but she became a bit more attentive when Walt spoke. “What makes you say that?” she queried.

“Well, I didn’t say a word to you, but somehow you still knew that I needed backup this morning in training.”

“Maybe I was just following you to steal your kills,” Zin suggested with a smirk.

Walt chuckled. “You did surprise me with that stunt you pulled; but stealing kills isn’t in your nature. You were assisting me for a long time before you decided to headbutt a tree like that. Why were you going so fast?”

“I… didn’t want to fall behind you guys,” Zin admitted, looking down at the table. “Everyone else has already killed at least one target… I don’t want to be thrown out for being too weak…”

“Zin…” Walt said, frowning. “I’m sure the instructors have seen how much backup you've been doing already. Teamwork is more important here than anything. A bunch of lone wolves, no matter how good they are at taking down dummies, wouldn’t last five minutes outside the Walls. You know the tactics; we stand a better chance fighting the titans if we work together.”

Zin shrugged, seemingly unconvinced.

Colin, who was also sitting at the table with them, took that opportunity to speak up. “Listen…” he began, “I’m not going to tell you what to do, Zin. All I’m saying is that if you play to your strengths, you’ll do just fine.”

At that, Zin cracked a smile. “Thanks, guys,” she said, “really. I’ll keep that in mind, and support you in the future!”

The trio grinned at one another and felt an unspoken agreement pass between them; from then on, they would work together to make sure they all graduated.