Dangerous Territory

The Weight of a Whip

Eren once again headed to the small castle where the Jewish prisoners were kept. He found these visits to be a small source of joy, getting to talk with Levi and hear about his life; however, when he got down to the dungeons, he saw all the cells were empty. He trotted back upstairs and found a bored guard.

"Where are the Jews?" he asked.

"Captain Woermann took them out to be flogged."

"Flogged?" snapped Eren. "Why? What did they do?"

The guard chuckled softly. "Does there need to be a reason? They're filthy Jews. I heard it's because one ran off, so all the rest are to be punished."

Eren stormed out and began to ask around. It did not take long to find out the location of the captain with a crowd around him, many of them cheering, some counting.

"What is going on?" Eren asked a soldier.

"Herr Leutnant! The captain is whipping them until they cry. We're all taking bets. This one, though, he's lasted through twenty lashes already and not a peep. We almost thought he was a mute, but someone said he's being used as a translator."

Eren felt his blood chill. He pushed his way forward, elbowing past the rowdy crowd, until he saw the center. The Jewish women had huddled together, all of them sobbing, some of them with their clothes in disorder. The Jewish men stood around them protectively, but they were watching what was happening in the middle.

Eren saw Levi leaned over a table someone had dragged out into the street, hands tied with ropes to the edges, and his shirt removed. Kitz Woermann's eyes were maniacal as he swung a flogger again, and Eren saw an arc of blood splatter the ground. Levi's fists clenched and his teeth gritted, yet he made no sound at all.

"Captain!" shouted Eren.

The commander looked up and grinned. "Lieutenant Jäger! Care to give him a few lashes? I think I must be out of shape."

"You said we needed to keep him alive."

"This won't kill him," Kitz said dismissively, not realizing how much blood was dripping down Levi's back. "Come. Give him a few lashes."

The crowd shouted, "Tu es! Mach schon!" Do it! Come on!

Eren looked horrified, but he caught Levi looking right at him.

"Do it, takhshet," he ordered in English.

"What are you talking about? I can't—"

"If you have any common sense at all, you would do it, you stupid, weak Nazi!" he bellowed.

The crowd was not sure what they were saying, but when they heard this Jew yelling back at a German officer, they began to get rowdy.

"If you don't," Levi said quietly, "you will be tied to this table next. Do it, in earnest, and I promise to cry like this bastard wants."

"But Levi, I—"

"Feigling!" bellowed Levi. It was one of the few German words he knew. Coward!

Eren's eyes widened in alarm at that rebellious insult.

Now the audience was in an uproar. Kitz did not even wait. He slapped the flogger into Eren's hands.

"It's all in the wrist, Jäger. Try not to let it hit you on the recoil."

Eren realized he had no choice, not after that. He was also furious. He came here to help Levi and was trying to think of a way to get him out of this. With that shout, the Jew had called into question Eren's authority and thus doomed himself.