Dangerous Territory

Bathing by the River

Levi jolted out of nightmares at the sound of clomping shoes. Out of habit, he ducked down and reached for the knife that was no longer by his side. Nazis were coming! However, he slowly realized that although this was true, the Nazi who was coming now was most likely the only one who would not kill him.

Still, he waited on edge. Other soldiers besides Eren Jäger had come down to this dungeon. One of his fellow Jews, Moses Braun, had for some reason gained the sadistic interest of a soldier named Darius Baer-Walbrunn, a giant man with deep-set, harsh eyes, who came down just to torment the emotionally-fraught man and threaten him at gunpoint. The captain himself had been down there just to torment them, choosing one victim to beat up for all the others to see, speaking German words they did not know. Levi knew he was being treated slightly better than the others, but only slightly. They needed him alive. The others were forced into hard labor, doing cleaning work around the town so the soldiers could relax.

Still, all the imprisoned Jews were now awake, even those who had been working late into the night. Wide eyes watched and waited with fear. Only Levi's eyes were narrow and scathing. He really wished he had his knife.

When he saw Eren, he relaxed a little, and he realized the others did as well. They all knew him as the man who saved them from being slaughtered right there in that tiny room where they had huddled and waited out the bombardment.

A moment later, they saw other soldiers with the young lieutenant, and anxiety increased again. Only Levi remained relaxed. He saw the look on Eren's face, and he knew that whatever this was, it was not going to be bad.

"It is your seventh day, ja?" Eren said with a lightness in his voice.

"To be honest, I've lost track of days," Levi said, still cautious but curious.

"I can't get you out of work, but I can get you a small reprieve from labor." His voice lowered, although he was speaking English and the others with him likely could not understand. "I can also briefly return a certain thing that is precious to you."

Levi's eyes widened at that. His Tanakh!

"Baden!" Eren cried out happily. "Bathing. You will wash in the river. Under guard, of course," he added, waving back to the soldiers. "These are trusted men of my platoon. They will not shoot if I order them not to, but," he added, and his voice turned threatening, "I did a lot to get you even this much. If you attempt to escape, we are under orders to shoot you. I can control my men, but only if you obey our rules. Now, translate that to your group. They look terrified."

Levi explained to the others that they were being allowed to wash in the river.

"Make sure you explain that they will be shot for any attempts at escape. Connie is a Scharfschütze. He will not miss."

"What is ... Scharfschütze?" Levi asked in confusion.

"Sharpshooter, I think is the English word. He always hits his target, no matter how far away it is."

"Tireur d'élite," Levi translated. He looked at the soldier, slim-built with a shaved scalp that made his head look too big for his body, and saw that his gray-green eyes were keen.

Eren waved over to the rest of the prison cells. "Translate it."

Levi nodded and repeated the words into French.

Jean groaned in annoyance. "Ich wünschte, einer von uns könnte Französich. Sprichst du's, Armin?" I wish one of us spoke French. Do you, Armin?

The small, studious soldier shook his head. "Ich verstehe nur hier und da ein Wort. Ich habe Italienisch gelernt." I only understand a word here and there. I studied Italian.