Heimatfront Episode Two - Baptism of Fire

Into the Fire

V

INTO THE FIRE

It took them just a few minutes to get to the woodlands. At this point the roads started to become harder to navigate, barely more than dirt trails zigzagging among the trees. Apparently Grenadier Arlert knew the region quite well and offered the idea of going in the front with the truck, while Jäger remained with Anja to coordinate the tanks. This change forced a short stop, which some girls used to stretch their legs and eat something before resuming the march.

"I hope this doesn't take much longer." Ysabelle confessed to Maria. After travelling for a full night, even she was starting to run low on energy.

Maria looked back, to the rest of the column dragging behind the Panzer IV.

"I also hope so." She muttered.

The column turned a few meters ahead, entering a wide clearing. There they noticed some sounds in the distance. Detonations muffled by the tree cover and a repetitive rumble.

"What is this?" Ysabelle asked, looking around. She connected the points more or less at the same time Maria did.

"Gunfire..."

Nervously, they looked over the nearby tree line. The darkened sky was covered in a thick layer of clouds although the moon sometimes managed to show its face in the few openings passing by. Against it they could see the dim reflections of the explosions from the battle nearby.

A sense of dread started to creep over Maria's spine. That wasn't going to be good.

In the 38(t) ahead of her Anja was growing impatient. She turned to Jäger, who stood over the engine cover, holding on to the turret with one hand while he searched for his comrades.

"So where are your people, again?" She asked him, irritation patent on her voice.

"They should be around here." The young soldier retorted, evidently confused. "Must have moved down the road for some reason."

He was also starting to get impatient. Something was happening, something terrible, he could feel it. And yet, he wasn't where his comrades needed him, but was instead babysitting a bunch of girls in tanks, or at least that was how he saw it.

Suddenly he noticed Armin gesturing through the passenger window of the truck ahead. Following his hand Jäger noticed a light flashing in short intervals in the night. He indicated it to Anja.

"Look. Order your people to stop up ahead."

Armin should have thought the same as the truck got out of the road and stopped just short of the nearby trees. On the other hand, Anja was somehow distrustful but passed on the order anyway. One by one the tanks parked on the grass field flanking the road. Immediately a group of soldiers walked out of the trees to meet them. Eren and Armin jumped out of the vehicles they were riding.

"Jäger." One of the soldiers, a young man with a Mauser crossed over his chest, greeted Eren. "So are these the new tanks?"

"Seems so..." Eren wanted to ask something more but one of the other soldiers interrupted him with his confused yelp.

"They're girls!"

"What about it?" Anja retorted immediately. She descended from the 38(t) and was joined by Maria and the other commanders. Erwin made a point in approaching the soldier who had spoken and stuck a finger in his chest.

"By the way, I'm a man." He said. The soldier, though, was still too shocked to reply.

The group gathered around Eren and the young man who seemed to be leading the soldiers.