Dangerous Territory

BOOK TWO: METZ - A Forest Ride

Levi struggled to translate German notes Armin had written on the map. "Americans liberated Chateau-Thierry on the 27th, Reims on the 29th, Verdun on the 31st. How can they move an entire army that quickly?" Levi muttered to himself. "The sheer amount of petrol they would need is insane!"

Eren whispered, "America has oil fields. Germany does not. So they have tanks and trucks, while we have horses." He felt Levi rest his head on his back and tried to look around. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry," he grunted reluctantly. "I've not eaten anything all day. Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"You should have said so." Eren reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a wrapped bar. "Here, eat this. It's full of ... um ... Eiweiß und Vitamine. Good stuff."

Levi accepted it, ripped open the package, and smelled a bar that was slightly fruity and sweet. He ate the protein bar ration as they clomped along.

"Do you need anything else?"

"Water."

"There's a canteen on the saddle. Help yourself."

Eating his food, drinking his water. Levi realized more and more, he really did owe his life to Eren.

A debt that big could take a lifetime to repay.

Levi pulled the blanket a little closer around his shoulders. He hated feeling damp and cold, but he was glad that Eren at least tried to give him something warm to bundle up in. The blanket smelled of him. It was comforting, and the warmth of Eren's back soothed the cold pain in his heart.

He again rested his head on Eren. Such a strong back! His hand rubbed along the leather jacket. It was nice to see Eren wearing something other than a Wehrmacht uniform. Like this, he could think of him as just a man, not a Nazi soldier.

Eren felt Levi's hand, the gentle caress, the closeness of his body, and he gulped. A day ago, he would have flirted, or at least tried in his awkward, inexperienced way. Now, he felt unworthy of this warm feeling. He even began to hate it.

A man was dead because of him. What right did he have to feel happy?

"Stop that."

Those two words came out so coldly, Levi's hand yanked back on instinct.

What was he doing? A few days ago, Eren intimately touching him sent Levi into a panic. Now, the closeness felt comforting, and hearing Eren bitterly telling him not to touch him hurt deeper than it logically should.

He had never been such a needy man. What was wrong with him?

They continued on for an hour in silence. Levi began to get weary again and leaned against Eren's back, gazing off into the trees. Then he looked down at the road, and he suddenly jolted.

"Stop!"

Eren pulled the horse to a sharp halt. "What is it?"

He pointed out. "Cigarette. I can smell it still. Whoever threw that down, they passed here less than an hour ago."

Eren inhaled. "I smell nothing."

"You smoke so much, I'm not surprised. It's faint, but it was definitely discarded this morning." Levi began to look around. "I don't see ... wait, there!" He leaped off the horse and walked off the side of the road. "Smart move, kid," he muttered to himself. "Boot prints. The road is muddy, so they walked off the path to hide their prints, but you can still see them in the mud over here. Two, maybe three sets. Hard to tell for sure with the boots being the same tread. That means military-issue."

"Americans?"

"I don't know what their boots look like." Levi picked up the discarded cigarette. "No label." He began to look around more, but he frowned as he saw no more evidence.