"LEVI!" Eren yelled and grabbed the man on the bench's arm. The man immediately ripped his arm away and stood up from the bench... He was an inch taller than Eren.

"What the hell, kid?" The man snapped and turned to walk away. Eren sank to his knees just as Natalie rushed up behind him.

"Eren? Are you ok? Was that not him?" She put her hand on Eren's shoulder as the man walked away. No, Eren had said that Levi was short, this man was tall. She let out a sigh. The cold snow made dark damp patches on Eren's jeans and froze his skin, but he didn't care. Natalie reached out and pulled Eren gently to his feet. "Come on, we'll find him..."

"I really thought it was him..." Eren sniffed, wiping at his eyes as his tears stung his freezing cheeks. "I really did... I thought I'd found him..." He barely whispered.

"You WILL find him, and I'm going to help you to... Come on, back to the car."

Natalie pulled on the brake and took a deep breath. "Well... We're here." Through the windscreen they could see at the end of the road, there was a dark, ominous opening to an alley, the graffiti covered bricks crumbling and breaking away at the edges. Eren swallowed but nodded determinedly.

"Right... Here goes."

"E-Eren, is this really such a good idea?" Natalie's heart was thumping in her chest; she was terrified.

"Probably not." Eren admitted as he got out and shut the car door.

"Great, that makes me feel loads better..." Natalie muttered under her breath before following suit. She went to the boot of her car and opened it, clumps of snow falling from the paintwork, showering her curly hair. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but..." She opened her nurses case and drew out a scalpel and another knife (fairly small, but a decent size for the job it was now for). She handed the knife to Eren. "There. I cannot believe we are doing this..." She sighed through chattering teeth and shut the boot, locking up the car with a press of a button.

"Thanks..." Eren swallowed and turned to face the menacing entrance to the alley. "R-ready?" He said with shaking breath.

"No."

"Me neither..." The two slowly walked towards the walkway. The smell of piss and cigarettes drifted out on the cold air, making Natalie wrinkle her nose and Eren let out a small cough. She wasn't sure this was such a good idea, she didn't want him to get sick again... But she knew there was no way of stopping Eren. She could either go with him and try to protect and help him, or she could leave him to go alone. Easy choice.

They entered the dark walkway, the darkness seeming to swallow them up as soon as they stepped inside. The inky blackness in the air was eery and thick, damp yet biting at the same time. The only sound was their slightly erratic breath on the still air. All of a sudden, Eren kicked a can in the darkness and they both let out a small shriek as the sound resounded on the walls, clanking and crashing loudly through their ears. They exchanged glances and Eren tried to give Natalie a reassuring smile, but it came out as a small twitch on the corner of his lips. They continued down the alley to a fork in their path. They could go left or right, but which way led to Levi?

"Which way do we go?" Natalie whispered as she glanced fearfully down each direction. Her hands were sweaty as they clutched tightly to her scalpel, her knuckles nearly as white as the snow that covered the rest of the town. There was no snow to be seen down here, the alley was shadowed by rooftops. It was damp and smelly down the alley, it made Natalie feel sick.

"Er... Left." Eren went with his gut feeling and started to lead Natalie down the left pathway. All too soon, they came across a man wearing a hoodie smoking a foul smelling cigarette. Natalie by now was shaking from head to toe in fear. Her heart was kicking at her ribs as if it was trying to break them and escape. The man turned his head in their direction but said nothing. Eren remembered what Levi had taught him about being in places like this: Don't show your weakness, or you'll be an easy target. "Don't look scared..." Eren whispered lowly back to Natalie before swallowing and walking straight forward. Natalie scurried after him and they went straight past the man. She wanted to scream, she had never been so scared in her life. What kind of person WAS Levi if he chose to be in a place like this?! They continued down the daunting alley, Natalie sticking close to Eren like a shadow. She was supposed to be here to protect HIM, not the other way round... Oh how the tables had turned. They continued turning down different routes, squeezing past foul smelling bins and edging around suspicious looking shadows. As they went along, they seemed to find more and more people, and in response, Natalie only got more and more scared. One man reached out drunkly and grabbed a hold of her, making her shriek, but Eren had shoved the man off and pulled her away. As they went he was starting to realise that this was all too familiar. He was doing exactly what Levi had done for him, and Natalie was in the position he had been in before. Nothing was going to get in his way, he was going to find Levi. They turned down a side-alley only to find a very drunk male and female having sex in the middle of the piss covered ground, their sweaty bodied smothered in dirt and God knows what. They had hurriedly turned back and gone another way, only to find another group of people, this time smoking what smelt like weed.

"Do you want any kid? Give me some money, I've got some good shit." One man with stale smelling breath said to Eren in a gravely voice, his grey hair hanging in lank wisps around his wrinkled old face. He was brandishing a sharp needle in one hand.

"No." Natalie said firmly and pushed Eren hurriedly past him. She was desperate to keep Eren safe and she knew all about infection from those needles. She didn't want to think about what would happen if one of them ended up on the receiving end of one of them. They sprinted away from the group and the old man down another path. All of a sudden, Natalie grabbed Eren's arm. Her face was pale.

"Eren..." She whispered, her eyes wide. Eren looked at her nervously.

"Y-yes...?"

"We have been so caught up in finding Levi, that we've forgotten to remember which way we've come... We're lost." Eren swallowed at that but refused to give in to fear. He shook his head adamantly, dampy hair swaying.

"All the more reason to find Levi, he's good at this sort of thing." He said and turned to carry on moving, but Natalie kept a firm grip on his arm. "He can get us out."

"Eren, what sort of person is he... H-he sounds dangerous, why would he be down here?" She whispered through shaking lips.

"Don't worry, he's not, he acts all big and scary, but he is really a softy... He was born on the streets and grew up in an alley, remember? It was hardly choice. He hated it. Don't worry, ok? I trust him." Natalie met the teen's eyes and searched them for a moment through the cloud of black shadow that surrounded them like smoke. His eyes were firm and honest. She could practically see the trust he had in Levi glittering in them.

"Alright..." She nodded, although she was still terrified. "Let's go get him." There was one thought that lingered in her mind that terrified her even more... What if Levi wasn't even here? Then Eren would break down, they'd be completely lost and probably die down there... Was this it?

(A/N): Hey guys! I know you've been greatly anticipating this chapter, I've had quite a few msgs. yes I am very sorry I haven't uploaded recently, I have only just come back from a holiday today. Thanks for reading, I love you reviews and all of you, see you next chapter! :D