Dangerous Territory

Burgundy in the Storm

An ambiance I made for Metz, you can listen to it for an immersive experience:

https://warfare.ambient-mixer.com/1944-metz

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Levi felt cold as he walked through the streets of Metz, and not just because of the rain. He wanted to look back at the hotel, just one last view of the place that had been his home for a mere five days, yet held some of the warmest moments he had experienced in years.

The back of his neck burned, like someone was staring at him. Had Eren already realized he sneaked out? Was he watching him now?

It had taken Levi a while to get out, first opening the stuck attic window, which probably had not been opened in decades, then climbing onto the roof of the hotel—that was not too hard with his skills learned as a spy. Thankful no one below bothered to glance up as he flipped over the eaves and landed on the roof, sliding slightly on the wet shingles. Then he had to cross a few other roofs of the side-by-side buildings before he found a safe way down.

Doing this in broad daylight, and worse with the roofs slick from the rain, was the worst way to escape from the hotel, but he had to admit, he had panicked. He just knew he had to get out of there. If he did not leave right at that moment, he might be convinced by nightfall to never leave Eren's side. He managed to get down, and only a few children and one elderly man smoking outside a hat shop saw him climb down a tree. They shrugged and ignored the oddity. None of their business, no point in making it their business.

Once down, he made it back to the main road, seeing the outside of the hotel for the first time since he arrived in Metz. He asked some stranger for directions to a street and was pointed in a general direction. Then he left, not looking back. Despite the tingle on the back of his neck, he merely flipped his collar up and continued on.

Don't look back! Never look back!

He kept his hat low, hoping no one would recognize him dressed like this. He heard a blend of French and German all around him, carriages and automobiles, shopkeepers trying to make a living and soldiers preparing to kill.

France should not be this way!

He turned down an alley, and finally he stopped. He held onto the wall as he leaned slightly over, his chest aching, his stomach sick. At least here, no one was around to see the anguish on his face.

He just walked out.

Eren would probably cry. Levi hated the idea of breaking the poor man's heart, but the dread of him getting killed outweighed any guilt about leaving without a word. He was good at survival when he was alone. He had never needed to rely on others, not until the war began, and then he was always trying to protect people. He could not protect all of them on his own and fight Nazis, yet every time he finally agreed to rely on other people for help, he got caught.

Staying with Eren, relying on him this much, growing so attached to him, was becoming too dangerous. He knew he needed to leave, and it was going to be hard. It was best to just slip away.

Still, it stung his heart.

As he closed his eyes, he saw again the ghostly image of Eren, his throat slit, blood pouring down his toned chest as those huge, teal eyes gazed sadly at him.

"Non!" He slammed his fist into the brick wall of the alley to shove those phantom images aside. He needed to focus, to stay alive.

First, he needed to find out the address he had memorized and see if it really was the French Resistance, or if it was a Nazi trap. This was yet another reason to leave without telling Eren. If Eren knew he was going to check out the place, he might follow him, and if things really did go bad, the heroic idiot would leap in and probably get himself killed.