**Chapter 1: Ambush Beyond the Walls**

The sun was setting over the horizon as we ventured further outside the walls, our squad on high alert for any signs of Titan activity. As a member of the Survey Corps, I was no stranger to danger, but I had never felt so alive as I did with my beloved boyfriend, Hange, by my side. We had been an inseparable team since our early days at the Corps' training, and I trusted him with my life. As we traversed through the rugged terrain, our commander, Erwin, gave the signal to take a short break. We were supposed to rest for a few minutes before continuing our mission, but fate had other plans. Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the air, and the ground shook beneath our feet. Titans emerged from the nearby woods, their eyes fixed on us with a menacing glare. "Alert! Titans ahead!" someone shouted, but it was too late. The Titans charged towards us, their massive bodies barreling like freight trains. Hange and I were separated from the rest of the squad in the chaos, and before I could react, a Titan slammed into me, its arm crushing my chest. I felt a searing pain as my C1 and C2 spinal cord snapped in half, severing my connection between my brain and the rest of my body. I was paralyzed from the chest down to my waist, unable to move or even breathe properly on my own. My vision began to blur, and I could feel my life slipping away. But that wasn't the worst of it – my skull had shattered, exposing my brain to the elements. I was trapped in a nightmarish world, unable to escape. Hange's panicked face appeared above me, his eyes filled with tears. "No, no, no! This can't be happening!" he whispered, his voice shaking. He quickly assessed my condition and sprang into action. With a steady hand, he inserted an endotracheal tube deep into my throat, the sound of the tube going in making my ears bleed. The tube was connected to a portable ventilator, which began to breathe for me. I was grateful, but I knew I was far from safe. As Hange worked to stabilize me, I realized that my diaphragm was completely weak. Any movement, no matter how slight, would cause it to stop working, and my lungs would not be able to expand properly. The fear of suffocation gripped me, and I wanted to scream, but my vocal cords were frozen. To make matters worse, I was hypersensitive to temperature changes, my spinal cord no longer able to regulate my body's functions. The slightest change in temperature made my skin crawl. As Hange carefully lifted me into his arms, I felt my heart stutter, then stop. Hange quickly responded, performing CPR on me as we made our way to the medical infirmary. I was trapped in a living nightmare, unable to move or speak, forced to rely on Hange to keep me alive. The journey was a blur, my consciousness fading in and out. I could hear Hange's desperate voice, urging me to hold on, but I was powerless to respond. My heart stopped multiple times, and each time, Hange was there to revive me, his determination and love for me driving him to keep me alive. As we finally reached the infirmary, I could only hope that the medical team would be able to save me. But for now, I was at Hange's mercy, dependent on him to keep me breathing, to keep me alive. And I knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure I survived, no matter what it took.