**Beyond the Walls of Despair**

The sun was setting over the horizon as our survey team ventured further outside the safety of the walls. I was part of the Hang Squad, an elite group of soldiers tasked with gathering intel and scouting out potential threats to our city. Armin, Jean, and I were scanning our surroundings, our eyes scouring the landscape for any sign of danger, when suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the air. Titans. "Alert!" I yelled, but it was too late. The titans emerged from the trees, their eyes fixed on us with an unnatural hunger. Hange, my beloved boyfriend, grabbed my arm and we took off in a sprint, our team scattering in all directions. We were trying to get to a safe distance, but it was no use. One of the titans, a particularly large and vicious one, charged towards us. I tried to dodge, but its massive hand swooped down, striking me with incredible force. I felt my body crumple to the ground, my vision blurring. Everything went dark. When I came to, I was disoriented and in agony. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe properly. Hange's face was above me, his eyes filled with terror. "Hey, hey, don't try to talk," he whispered, his voice shaking. "You've been badly hurt." I tried to speak, but all that came out was a faint gurgle. Hange's expression turned grave as he examined my body. "Severe internal decapitation," he muttered to himself. "Your C1 and C2 spinal cord is snapped in half." I was paralyzed from the chest down to my waist, unable to move or feel any sensation below that point. My breathing was labored, and I could feel a tube being inserted deep into my throat. "Wh-what...?" I tried to ask, but Hange just shook his head. "Don't try to talk, I need to put in an endotracheal tube. You need help breathing." The tube was inserted, and I felt a strange sensation as it was connected to a ventilator. I was trapped, unable to move or breathe on my own. My diaphragm was weak, and any movement would cause it to stop working. Hange's hands were gentle as he worked to stabilize me, but his eyes were filled with fear. "Your skull is shattered, exposing your brain," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're hypersensitive to temperature changes... I need to get you to the infirmary, now." As he lifted me into his arms, I felt my heart stutter, then stop. Hange's face contorted in panic as he performed CPR on me, his compressions slow and deliberate. "Come on, don't leave me," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Please, don't leave me." The world around me was a blur as we stumbled towards the infirmary. My heart stopped multiple times, and each time, Hange was there, fighting to revive me. I was barely hanging on to life. Finally, we arrived at the infirmary, and Hange rushed me inside. He turned to the medical staff, his eyes wild with desperation. "Prepare everything," he ordered. "The patient is in critical condition. They suffer from severe spinal cord injury and severe head injury. We need to act fast." The medical staff sprang into action, and Hange immediately began prepping for surgery. "There's no time to waste," he said, his voice firm. "We need to save them." As the medical staff rushed to assist him, I was aware of Hange's presence, his hands moving swiftly and surely as he worked to repair the damage. I was trapped in this broken body, unable to move or speak, but I knew I was in good hands. Hange would do everything in his power to save me. But as the anesthesia took hold, and I slipped into the unknown, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was teetering on the edge of a precipice, and one misstep would send me tumbling into the abyss.