Dangerous Territory

Weak and Filthy

Eren tried to get Levi up onto his shoulder. "He's been sick."

"If he's sick, we should shoot him now." He began to reach for his gun.

"The doctor saw him. He's not contagious. It's a blood infection."

He sneered. "Blood? See, Jews are filthy. Their blood is a disease that has spread all over Europe. We should shoot them all. Damn Allies blowing up the rail lines! Berlin was supposed to send a real translator, but there have been strikes all across France's rails. Berlin is desperate to figure out what this bitch knows, but they don't send me a proper translator, or a Gestapo inspector, nothing! I can't wait for the day we don't need these creatures in our camp. You must be far more annoyed, having to speak English so much. When we finally get a proper translator, I'll let you exterminate that thing personally."

"Wh-What?" Eren cried out.

Kitz's sunken eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem, lieutenant?"

He shut his mouth and gagged back his protests. "I'm a fighter, not an executioner."

"Executions are for humans. Think of it as like shooting a wounded dog. You're putting it out of its misery. No, dogs are at least loyal. Jews are less than even insects." He glared hard. "Do you have a problem with this?"

Eren stood straighter. "It will be my first Jewish kill, Captain. Thank you for the honor."

Kitz gave an approving smile. "Good. Listen up, Jäger. Don't ever assume Jews are human. That girl down there, she's human. She does not beg or break. You can tell by the blueness of her eyes and shape of her nose, she's Aryan. It's a shame she sided with the French; she would have made an ideal German wife, if she had been born only a few hundred kilometers east. I can't show her pity, though. Nor should we show pity to subhumans: Jews, Serbs, Russians, Blacks, Mulattos, Arabs. None of them are fully human. They just walk upright and have the ability of speech. Their brains are different from ours; skull size proves that. It's science! So never show pity to Jews, because they don't have the brain power to differentiate pity from weakness."

"Is there ever an appropriate time to show pity, Captain?" the young man asked, hoping to buy Levi a little more time to rest by keeping the captain talking.

"Of course, Jäger. Show pity to elderly Aryans whose children ran away to marry a Jew, leaving their parents to grow old alone. Show pity to children who do not understand this war and why we must fight for the preservation of humankind. Sympathize for your fellow soldiers wounded fighting Russians, Americans, and British."

Eren's eyes narrowed at that.

"Oh, that's right! You despise the British. Why, Jäger? I was always curious."

"I have my reasons," he said, bristling with hate.

"Have you ever killed a British soldier?"

"Many in Anzio, sir."

"Then savor your first Jewish kill with the same anticipation that you had on your first British kill. Not yet, though. Keep that thing alive a little longer until we don't need it anymore. Even if you give it medicine and let it sleep like a sick dog, that's fine. We need its mouth, not so much that tiny, weak body. That is your duty, Jäger. Until a replacement translator arrives, keep the Jew alive, and once he's not needed, savor your first Jewish kill."

"Jawohl!" He stood at attention until Kitz left back down the cellar. Once he was out of sight, Eren sank with a scowl.

"Bastard," Levi said in a low, gravelly voice. "It sounds like he wants to shoot me."

Eren looked over. He decided not to tell Levi that the captain expected Eren to be the one to pull the trigger one day. "He said you get to stay in bed. You don't have to clean or do any work until you are better. He has given me authority to do whatever it takes to keep you alive."