Dangerous Territory

Woermann's Deceit

It was the morning of November 4th, the day Armin was scheduled to go into surgery to fix his skull. Eren was there, along with Jarnach, Connie, and Floch, the only ones from their platoon who were still alive and not severely wounded. They sat in a stark room, looking at magazines as they awaited news.

Finally, Connie gave up pretending to read an article about Goebbels and set down his magazine. "Have any of you seen Dieter? The man's half-crazy. That battle messed him up."

Absently, Eren said, "He should sniff a lemon. It helps."

They all looked over in surprise.

"A lemon?" asked Floch.

Eren nodded. "It keeps away battle-madness."

Jarnach muttered, "I should try that."

Connie frowned and looked down at the magazine again. "Do all of you get nightmares?"

They all silently nodded.

"Good. I mean," he muttered awkwardly, "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

Things fell silent again, until finally a doctor opened the door. They all tossed down the unread magazines and looked with equal parts eagerness and worry.

"The surgery was a success," he assured them, which brought sighs of relief to them all. "Stabsgefreiter Arlelt is awake, and he seems to be doing well. If he remains stable, then in five days, he will be sent to the hospital in Saint-Avold for long-term care."

"Can we see him?" Connie shouted out.

"One at a time. Keep your voices down. He has quite a headache."

"I bet!" Floch muttered. "Did you really see his brain?"

The doctor chuckled. "Let's start with the lieutenant. Arlelt asked to see you."

Eren rose and followed the doctor through busy halls. He could see from all the soldiers around, some in wheelchairs, some on crutches, others with arm slings or their heads wrapped, the various battles all around Metz were really taking a toll on the military.

They entered a room, and Eren saw Armin trying to stand up with the help of a nurse. He looked up as Eren entered and immediately smiled.

"Eren!" He sat back down and turned to the nurse. "I'll hold it until after I speak with him. Thanks."

Eren looked worried. "Should you really be standing?"

The doctor huffed. "No, he shouldn't. I told him not to."

"I want to get better," Armin said stubbornly. "My head is back in order, so I want to get back to duty as soon as possible."

The doctor stepped in. "And I told you, I completely forbid it. Just healing your skull will take many weeks as the bone fuses, and your neurological trauma may take you years of therapy to fully recover. The fact that you can almost stand up is, quite frankly, beyond expectations for this sort of trauma."

Eren walked up to Armin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've served your country, and you saved my life. Now it's time for the country to serve you. Don't worry about fighting anymore. Heal yourself. I want you to be able to walk to the beer hall with me when this war is over."

Armin looked frustrated that he could not continue.

Eren looked back to the older man. "Doctor, may we have a moment?"

Both the doctor and nurse left the room. Eren sat on the hospital bed beside his friend.

"I hate this," Armin muttered. "I can't even use the toilet without assistance to walk."