Dangerous Territory

Debriefing

Eren thought he woke up.

Or maybe not.

Who was this elderly man beside him? He was speaking, but nothing made sense.

Everything felt dizzy, chaotic, dreamy. His eyes closed, then opened and the old man was gone. He saw Jean, only to close his eyes for what he thought was merely a blink, and suddenly Jean was replaced by Captain Woermann. Eren tried to lift his arm in salute, but his body felt numb. Then he was asleep again, or so he thought. His eyes opened once more and there was a woman beside him giving him medicine, but he could only stare and obey, no will of his own. His eyes drifted down, or maybe they were already closed.

Was he asleep or just now falling asleep?

Why can't I wake up?

After hazy confusion, his eyes opened, and this time he felt like he was actually waking up. Someone had knocked on the door, and as he looked over, he saw Holger walk in. He was being sneaky, like he was afraid to wake him.

"Holger?" Eren asked, but his throat was dry.

Immediately, the blond soldier burst into a relieved smile. "Guten Abend, Jäger. Wie fühlen Sie sich jetzt?" Good evening, Jäger. How do you feel now?

Eren glanced around. "Abend?" Evening? He looked over at the window, and indeed, the sky outside was starting to turn dark. "Was I asleep?" Was it still the same evening, or a new evening? He felt so disoriented.

"What do you remember from last night?"

"Last night? Saturday?"

Holger pouted in worry. "It's Monday evening, Jäger. You've been asleep all day."

Eren gasped softly. "Monday?" He glanced around in confusion. "Why...? Whoa..." He grabbed his head as a spiraling wave of vertigo sent his senses spinning. "Why does my head feel like this?"

Holger chuckled and went about checking on him. He felt Eren's forehead, and at the touch Eren yanked back, only to get hit with another wave of dizziness. "Your fever broke at least."

"Fever? Was I sick?"

Holger's lips twisted. "The doctor warned that you might have a bad headache. Here, he left some medicine."

"I think ... I took ... something," he muttered, trying to piece together the dreamlike visions. "I took some pills. There was a woman here."

"Ah, that must have been the nurse with your noon pills."

"Noon?" He looked again at the window. It was almost like he had gone backwards in time, from evening with Levi to just after sunset now, and it really confused him.

Holger fetched a cup with two pills and a glass of juice. "Here you go?"

Eren took the pills and groaned, "What happened to me?"

"The doctor said you were drugged."

"Drugged?" Was Levi drugged too? Was he safe? Panic began to build in Eren's mind. "Where's...?" He looked around frantically, but a wave of dizziness slammed into his head, forcing it backward into the pillow. He grabbed his head with both hands. He realized belatedly, he had almost asked Where's Levi, so he shook his head to clear his mind. "Where's Louise?"

Holger frowned in pity. "We don't know. She helped to bring you here, but then she vanished."

Eren sighed in relief. At least Levi got away.

"Do you know where she may have gone?"

Eren slowly shook his head. If Levi escaped, he would have fled to the Resistance. He did not like that idea, but at least he would be away from danger.