Dangerous Territory

A Loaf of Bread

That Saturday, Eren brought only two people with him to take the Jews down to the river to bathe. As much as he wished he could say he trusted his entire platoon in all things, for this issue he really could only trust Armin and Jean.

"Hey," Jean called out, pointing to the women undressing. "Two of them have bruises on their chests. What happened?"

Eren asked Levi in English, and then answered Jean. "They were assaulted by soldiers a few days ago."

Armin gasped in horror. "Are you saying German soldiers raped them?"

"You heard about Grützmacher, right? He was one of the attackers."

Armin struggled with a deep revulsion. "But ... but he was homosexual, a deviant."

Eren shrugged. "He was a rapist. It didn't matter what gender to him. Why is it easy to believe a man would rape another man, but you can't believe a man would rape a woman?"

"Because ... they're women! It's wrong."

"Raping a man is just as wrong."

Armin dropped his head. "Yes, but..."

Levi spoke some more, and Eren listened. "He says, you don't have to worry too much for them. They've learned how to deal with the shame. All four of them have been raped multiple times."

"What?" both Jean and Armin exclaimed.

"That's unacceptable!" shouted Jean. "Who was it? Which soldiers?"

Eren raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think they asked for names? We probably all look alike in our uniforms."

Jean marched up to the women, who drew back in fear at the sternness of his face. "If you recognize the attackers, come to me and point them out. You don't have to say a word, just point out who did it. I can't kill them like what Jäger did to Grützmacher, but I can make their lives a living nightmare until they wish for death."

Eren told all that to Levi, who relayed it to the women. They relaxed and even smiled. The youngest woman, no more than sixteen, spoke directly to Jean in French, which Levi translated to Eren in English, who in turn told Jean in German.

"She says, you are like a prince out of a fairy tale, and you would be a handsome man if you didn't have the face of a horse."

Jean swirled on Eren. "She did not say that!"

Eren burst into laughter.

"You bastard! I know the French word for horse, and she did not say anything about a horse. You're such an idiot, Jäger."

They laughed, and as the Jews bathed in the river, the three German soldiers watched them less closely than they probably should have.

Levi still guarded the four women, who bathed slightly upriver. He rolled his eyes as the German soldiers roughhoused each other.

So many openings! There were so many times he could have grabbed Armin's gun and shot all three. By the time troops came to check on the gunshots, their group could be over the river. Eren had not brought his sharpshooter, so they actually stood a fair chance of making it into the forest before the Germans opened fire.

Then again, he was not sure if he could run fast enough with his injuries. He could always be bait, stay behind, attack the Germans while the others forged ahead. He could take all three soldiers' guns, hole up somewhere, and probably last long enough to ensure the rest escaped. One life, to ensure the rest survived...

"Hey, Levi," Eren said with a laughing grin. "Go, wash up. It's not like you or the women have to worry about the three of us."

He could shoot him.