Okay, I know I should be finishing the next chapter of One-Way Ticket. But . . . I blame my bouts of insomnia that gives me motivation to write this instead!

This was a long one too, just over 10 pages. I've got to say, I absolutely loved writing this from Levi's perspective. In my head, Levi has a slight Cockney accent, Hanji is Yorkshire-Like, and Erwin is classic English.

Please review and/or comment if you can, I always appreciate feedback. Good or bad.

Either way, I hope that you enjoy. See you soon!

Chapter 2 – Levi

Levi shot up suddenly in bed, his right hand clutched the left side of his chest as his heart threatened to beat right out of it. He leaned forward, resting his head onto his bent knees as he attempted to catch his breath and banish the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. He turned his head slightly to catch the time that flashed tauntingly on the Echo Dot next to his bedside. 09:32. His first seminar was at 12:00, and he thanked whatever deity that he didn't have work until the weekend.

Another boring day, another nightmare, another three hours' worth of sleep.

You're okay, you're in bed. Eyebrows and Shitty glasses are in the next room, You're safe, you're safe. Levi grounded himself, he sighed in relief as his heart finally began to slow and his breathing slowed to a regular rhythm once more. Levi eventually raised his head from his knees and sunk back into the pillows that were braced against his headboard. He grimaced as he felt the sweat that soaked his t-shirt which caused it to stick uncomfortably against his back. Fucking Disgusting. He thought venomously.

Unable to sit in his own filth, he promptly flipped the corner of his duvet away from his body and stepped into the cold air of his bedroom. He loved this time of year, when the nights started to draw in and the cold began to seep into the buildings. He wasted no time stripping the dirty t-shirt from his body before he threw it into the corner of his room, the drying sweat caused him to shiver slightly as it met with the cold air. Levi then turned his attention to his bed as he deftly began to strip the sheets, throwing each item into the corner atop his t-shirt.

Once fresh sheets had been secured onto his bed, the pillows and duvet fluffed perfectly into place, Levi turned to the adjoining door attached to his room. Levi had wanted to kiss Hanji for suggesting they rented this place, if only for the ensuites that were attached to each bedroom. The block of flats was extremely popular with students, so it made sense for each room to have a tiny wetroom attached. He was especially thankful for it when Hanji and Erwin started dating three years ago.

There is no way I could shower in peace if I knew those two nutcases had fucked in it. Levi thought with a slight smile as he entered the bathroom in his boxers. He yawned so wide that his jaw cracked a little as he flicked the light on. The small bathroom itself was nothing special, but it meant everything to Levi to have his own place to get clean. White linoleum gleamed under the blinding fluorescent bulb; no doubt due to his impeccable cleaning. The same white linoleum covered the floor, only broken up by the burgundy mat that sat just outside the entrance of the shower. Directly in front of the shower door was a small sink, next to it the toilet. There were shelves mounted on the wall that held a few, fluffy burgundy towels to match the mat. A crisp shower curtain cut off the shower from the rest of the wetroom.

Levi stumbled blearily towards the small sink, yawning once more. He plopped a healthy helping of toothpaste onto his toothbrush before starting to clean his teeth. As he set about his task, he took stock of his appearance in the mirror situated above the sink.

The sweat had plastered clumps of hair to his forehead, he frowned deeply at that and blew air out of his nose in frustration. Drying the mop atop his head was always a massive pain in the ass, but needs must. Its thickness was the main reason why he had it styled into an undercut, and it still took too long to dry the damn thing as it was. Dark bags hung heavily under his grey eyes, and he cringed slightly. They looked even worse against his alabaster skin. He couldn't hide them from Erwin and Hanji and his friends were prone to questioning him ceaselessly about his sleeping habits – or lack thereof. His skin was sallow and clammy, it looked paler than usual, but a warm shower should fix that at least. Levi spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth before shedding his boxers, throwing them on top of the dirty bedsheets to be washed alongside everything else. He turned the knobs on the shower and waited patiently for the spray to heat up before he stepped inside. He sighed in relief as he felt the warm water loosen the knots in his shoulders. He rolled them experimentally, humming in satisfaction as one popped.

As he began to shampoo his hair, he allowed his thoughts wander.

Himself, Erwin, and Hanji had lived in this apartment for five years now. It was the longest time that Levi had ever settled into one place, and he had to admit that he liked the thought of having some good roots. It was just on the edge of campus, a mere fifteen-minute walk away from the main building of the University of Wales. Levi knew that they lucked out when the apartment became available during the summer, so they had the advantage as most students had left campus before the next educational year. He smiled slightly as he ducked his head under the water to rinse the shampoo away. All three of them became close during their first year of university, at the beginning they had bonded over one thing.

None of them had families that they could return to.

Hanji had bounced around the foster system in Northern England for her entire life. The woman was the sweetest person to walk this earth – In Levi's opinion. Even though Levi's attitude was surly at best and he loved to rag on his friends, and Hanji arguably belonged in an asylum – they got on like a house on fire. His friends kept him grounded, safe. Hanji was a genius and despite the fact she had such an unstable home life, she got a full ride to university to study Microbiology. The kindest way to describe her was eclectic at best, batshit insane at her worst. However, Levi couldn't deny that her passion and enthusiasm for science bled into everything that she did.

Erwin was a different beast entirely. Levi thought it was obvious that he had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth from the very first day that they had met. However, Levi knew, that money didn't always mean that a person had a good home life. That was certainly the case for Erwin. His family was old money, they came from a long line of high-ranking officials in the military. Erwin's father had high expectations that his son would follow in his footsteps. Levi sighed a little, allowing the warm water to wash over his now-clean body. Erwin was always one to dance to the beat of his own drum, and he had always dreamed of becoming a psychologist. Much to the extreme disappointment of his father who promptly disowned him for being a "disgrace to the Smith family name." Erwin had hinted on multiple occasions the physical abuse that he had faced from his father and uncle as a child. Both Hanji and Levi were kind of relieved when Erwin had finally been banished from that family.

Then there was Levi. All three of them were studying for their doctorates, Levi specialised in Linguistics and Literature. He was of two minds, whether to become a professor and study ancient language or to pursue his boyhood dream of becoming a novelist. Well, that was a boyhood dream he began to have in his teenage years, when his life was a little less . . . chaotic to say the least. He spent a couple of years scrounging on the streets of London after his mother died. Those years were a horror to Levi, until he had met Isobel and Farlan . . . Levi forcibly shook his head; he didn't want to think about those years anymore today. His mind taunted him enough with incessant nightmares about what happened to his two friends. He was on his own for a few more years until he was picked up by a social worker at the age of ten and promptly delivered to his Uncle Kenny for safekeeping.

Levi wasn't aware that he had a living relative, he never knew his father, and Kuchel had never mentioned having a brother. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. When Levi had been placed with Kenny . . . he was feral. The anger that he held towards the whole world for his turbulent childhood consumed everything and he regularly lashed out. It took months for Kenny to whip him into shape just enough to be enrolled into school. It took years for Kenny to earn his trust enough for Levi to believe that Kenny wasn't going to dump him back onto the streets, cold and alone. Kenny's place was a tiny flat on a council estate, they had been forced to move multiple times between cheap flats that Kenny could afford over the years.

In many ways, Levi was still healing – even now at the age of 26.

Thinking of Kenny struck a chord within him, he hadn't called his uncle in weeks, and he probably should. Levi stepped out of the shower, cutting through the thick cloud of steam to grab a clean towel to wrap around his body. Levi stepped back into the bedroom as he started to dry himself off, he allowed his thoughts to wander once more.

His uncle was extremely firm and he never let Levi get away with allowing his fits of anger to take over. Kenny was just what Levi needed to make him a productive member of society. His uncle recognised the darkness that swirled inside of him and encouraged healthier ways of expelling it rather than beating the shit out of other boys on the playground. Levi smiled a little as he sat on the edge of his now-clean bed, unwrapping the towel from his body to dry off his hair. He would never forget a particular day when he had come home from school, his knuckles cracked and bloody, his face blossoming with dark bruises from another fight.

"You were at it again, you little shit." Kenny had snapped as he took in the state of his twelve-year-old nephew. "Kuchel would turn in her grave, seeing you throw your life away like this."

"Well, she won't care, because she's dead." Levi snapped back.

"For fucks sake Levi! What do you think will happen if you're caught fighting again, huh?" Kenny stared down at the boy, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. Levi resisted the urge to look down at his feet, instead meeting his uncle's gaze with a haughty glare.

"I don't know," Levi spat. "Who cares."

"Well, I'll fucking enlighten you then. You'll be expelled – the social workers will come and take you away. At best, you could fucking hope that you slip into the foster system. At worst, if you carry on like this, you'll be rotting in a detention centre and you would've successfully flushed your whole future down the toilet, and for what?" Kenny glowered as Levi opened his mouth to retort. "Does that sound like a good time to you, brat?"

"No." Levi ground out through gritted teeth.

That seemed to satisfy Kenny. He nodded sagely before he placed a warm, heavy hand atop Levi's head. The gentle touch startled the boy and he ducked his head to glare at his feet as tears threatened to gather in his eyes.

"I know you're angry and it's hard for you to express that in a healthy way. You've witnessed things a boy your age shouldn't even dream of, but I've got an idea on how to help you on that. Under one condition though, you've gotta promise me, Levi. You've gotta promise me that you'll do well in school and make something of yourself. Someone needs to break the cycle of shit that has plagued this shitshow of a family. It's too late for me, it's too late for Kuchel. But, it's not too late for you."

Kenny had disappeared and then come back into the room, holding something behind his back. "Hold out your hands, kid."

Levi, for the first time in his life, did what his uncle had told him to do. Kenny placed a long bamboo sword in his hands, his face split in a grin. Levi closed his hand over the handle, his heart hammered in his small chest. He couldn't help but feel complete as he held the sword in his hand, as if it was something he was always meant to do.

"I don't understand," Levi said, looking at the sword in curiosity.

"I'm training you in Kendo, shit-head. It helped me when I was a kid, it'll probably help you work off the anger bubbling in that thick skull of yours." Kenny poked Levi's forehead between the eyes, which caused the boy to scowl.

Kenny had been right, and Levi had taken to Kendo like a duck to water. The more he trained, the more it became apparent that Levi was a prodigy, especially as he graduated to Nito at the age of fifteen. Levi remembered how much Kenny had scrimped and saved to pay for better equipment so Levi could start competing properly. Levi's whole attitude had changed, he became more focused, he caught up with school. It became apparent that Levi had a talent for learning languages. The anger was always there, simmering darkly within the recesses of his heart. But learning how to properly wield a sword had done wonders for him. Kenny was a rather . . . unconventional teacher to say the least, but Levi would always be grateful to his uncle for pulling him off the dark path he was walking.

Always.

Levi had finished drying his hair and he gently combed the pitch-black strands back into position. Satisfied, he stood and began to dress. He decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a sleeveless black polar neck jumper that accentuated his muscular arms and chest. He finished it off with an oversized dark green, checked jacket which was warm and comfortable, the end of the jacket hung low enough to brush the top of his thighs. As he was putting his usual rings onto his fingers, his eyes landed on his bamboo swords, one shorter than the other, that were propped up next to his chest of drawers. He then gazed thoughtfully at the metal versions that were proudly mounted on the wall, safely sheathed in colourful silk.

It's been a while, maybe I should practice today after my seminar. He nodded to himself and decided to put his bamboo swords into his black leather backpack that was already bursting with his paperwork. They were too long to be completely enclosed, so he situated them as best as he could before closing the zips, the handles of the swords sticking up boldly.

He hefted the bag over one shoulder, paused to stuff his mobile into his back pocket, and bent to scoop up his dirty washing before he exited his bedroom.

The flat was three bedrooms and extremely spacious, Hanji moved into Erwin's room within a couple of months of them dating. It left them with a spare room which Hanji absolutely refused to convert to anything else.

"What if we have guests!" She had cried.

"What guests? We never have fucking guests." Levi had growled, but he could feel himself wavering as she gave him puppy-dog eyes from behind her thick frames. He groaned in defeat, "fine then, Shitty Glasses, but I ain't keeping it clean for you. That's your job." Hanji squealed and forced Levi into a hug in excitement.

Levi rolled his eyes at the memory; the woman was incorrigible. The smell of bacon immediately assaulted his nose as he hooked one socked foot around his bedroom door to pull it closed behind him.

Erwin was stood at the hob in the kitchen, a black spatula in one hand which he waved at Levi in greeting before he turned his attention back to the bacon sizzling in the pan. Erwin was extremely tall; his blonde hair was combed to perfection as always – his blue eyes were bright in the morning light that filtered through the kitchen windows. Hanji sat at the kitchen island, a thick book in hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. Her auburn hair was tied up into a messy ponytail, her brown eyes sparkled as they flicked across the page wildly. She paused, a wide grin splitting her face, as she spotted Levi.

"Well, good morning short-stuff! Tea or Coffee?" Hanji marked the page in her book and settled it gently on the island in front of her.

"Call me short again, Shitty Glasses, and see what happens." Levi snapped as he threw his dirty washing into the machine and then dumped his backpack on the ground by the island. "Coffee, please."

"Unlike you not to have tea, Levi." Erwin said, his clever eyes boring into Levi. His thick eyebrows were drawn downwards with concern. "Did you not sleep much again?"

"No more than usual, Eyebrows." Levi sighed before he scooped up his cigarettes and lighter. "If you'll excuse me, I need a smoke."

"I'll bring you your coffee in a bit, Levi." Hanji chirped as she hopped off the stool to make her way over to the kettle. "Careful, it's cold out there today."

"Yeah, yeah, cheers Shitty Glasses." Levi said, placing a cigarette between his lips as he opened a large window in the kitchen that led to their fire escape.

He diligently ignored Erwin and Hanji whispering about the bags under his eyes as he stepped out onto the fire escape. The metal grating was freezing, the cold bled through his socks and to his feet instantly. Levi wiggled his toes to keep them warm as he struck his lighter. He cupped his hand over the flame to protect it from the breeze as he lit the cigarette that was clasped between his lips. As it caught the flame, Levi inhaled deeply, he tipped his head back to the sky as he released the smoke slowly into the morning air. A sense of calm came over him, the nicotine instantly calmed his still-stuttering heart and dampened the anxiety that bubbled in his gut.

"Here's your coffee, hot-stuff!" Hanji chirped, holding the mug out of the open kitchen window for Levi to take. "Black, just the way you like it."

"Thanks Hanji." Levi said, leaving the lit cigarette between his lips as he took the mug. Levi wrapped his hands around the mug, the contents warmed the digits pleasantly. "Appreciate it."

"Jesus Christ, there must be angel dust in that cigarette for you to call me by name." Hanji cackled, her face beaming.

Levi growled and blew smoke in her face, causing Hanji to squeal and flinch backwards, flapping her hand over her face to disperse the cloud. "Fuck off Shitty Glasses, it was a moment of weakness."

"You love me!" She sang before she slammed the window shut, giving Levi a sarcastic wave before she traipsed back to her original position on the island. Levi could see Erwin laughing at his station in the kitchen, and Levi cracked a smile. He wouldn't deny it.

Erwin caught his eye and gestured to the bacon, asking if he wanted any. Levi shook his head and raised his mug in response. He didn't think he could stomach breakfast after the shitty nightmare he had had.

Levi then turned to lean both of his elbows over the railing, the mug clasped safely in one hand. He held the cigarette in place with his teeth, inhaling again as he looked at the horizon. He loved being on the fire escape, especially because they were one of the top-floor flats. Being this close to the sky made him feel like anything was possible. Especially on a day like today. The sky was pale blue, only a few fluffy clouds broke up the flawless canvas. A truly rare day for Wales, a beautiful country but Levi had to admit, all the rain became extremely tiresome. The sun lit up the rolling hills that bordered the town of Rhosyn Wal, the valley a bastion of green grass and trees that had just begun to shed their leaves. Levi finished his cigarette, flicking the butt into an old mason jar that he had left on the fire escape for that very purpose. He took a deep gulp of the coffee that Hanji had given him, relishing in how the warm liquid warmed his insides. Levi promptly drained the cup; the crisp morning air had cooled the beverage to a drinkable temperature very quickly. Levi frowned a little as a faint scream cut through his peaceful morning, high pitched and quite far away. He shook his head lightly, probably some damn kids playing too loud so early in the morning.

Levi lit another cigarette, placing his now empty mug onto the window sill as he started to scroll through social media to pass the time. He could hear Hanji and Erwin talking inside the kitchen, and the sound comforted him. One thing that he was worried about when his friends started a relationship, was that they wouldn't want to live with him anymore. Levi was respectful of their space, and tried to give them privacy by retreating to his room regularly. However, both took pleasure in dragging him out to socialise. He felt stupid for worrying about it at times like that.

A knock on the window snapped Levi's attention away from his phone. Erwin stood there, he raised an arm and tapped the watch on his wrist, telling him it was time to leave. He could barely believe that it was almost 11:30 already. Levi nodded in response, stowing his phone back in his pocket as he took one final drag of his cigarette. He paused to scoop up the empty mug before ducking back into the kitchen through the window. Levi quickly washed the mug and put it away, he then grabbed his black leather backpack and settled it comfortably on his shoulders.

Hanji was stood by the front door, dancing from foot to foot with her own backpack slung across her shoulders and a thick coat that didn't seem to weigh her down. Erwin was toeing on his trainers by her feet enveloped in his own coat.

"Come on Levi! We're going to be late!" Hanji chirped.

"Eyebrows, why did you let the psycho have coffee this morning?" Levi shot Hanji a cocky smile as she began to sputter. "She's going to pee on the mat in excitement."

Erwin snorted as he finishing tying his laces and lurched to his feet. Hanji shot him a look of betrayal before she punched him lightly on the arm. "Traitor! Aren't you meant to defend my honour?"

"Why would I do that?" Erwin asked, stifling a laugh. "You don't even have any seminars today so you don't need to come."

"Because I wanna go to my lab." Hanji whined. "We've just started some fascinating research on encapsulated bacteria and how their protective coating makes them resistant to antibiotics and able to survive on surfaces for a long time. In fact, they're even resistant to- "

"Shitty Glasses, if you carry on being a mad scientist, I'm going to throw this boot at you." Levi deadpanned, holding up one of his heavy leather boots to accentuate the threat.

Hanji merely stuck her tongue out at Levi as the smaller man finished lacing up his boots. After all three had exited the flat, Erwin turned to lock the front door before they began their decent to the bottom floor of the building.

Levi took a deep breath of cold air as they finally stepped outside and onto the pavement and the trio began their short walk to the campus. Erwin and Hanji talked animatedly with each other; Hanji swung their linked hands as they walked. Levi stalked beside them; his own hands jammed into the pockets of his checked green jacket as his heavy boots thumped against the concrete. Levi took note that the streets were almost deserted, extremely strange at this time of day on a Monday morning. There was almost always rivers of students streaming towards or away from the campus for seminars.

Levi paused as a large helicopter suddenly circled overhead; the sound of its whirling blades almost deafening due to the fact it was hovering so low. Levi noticed that Erwin had also ground to a stop, almost yanking Hanji off her feet as she didn't notice and carried on walking. Erwin's thick eyebrows were drawn down in concern, his blue eyes intense as they tracked the helicopter as it gradually became smaller and smaller as it passed over.

"Erwin?" Hanji called, tugging his hand, and successfully bringing his attention back to his girlfriend. "What's the matter?"

"That was military, but there isn't a base around for miles. What the hell was it doing here?" Erwin muttered. Levi wasn't sure whether he was talking to himself or them. Erwin suddenly shook his head and kissed Hanji on the cheek. "Probably some sort of drill or something."

Erwin and Hanji carried on walking like before, but Levi paused. He looked over his shoulder, his grey eyes narrowed onto the helicopter in the distance. It was now the size of a tiny dot against the pale blue sky. A feeling of dread twisted his guts and made his chest tight. Almost like they were on the cusp of something.

The cusp of something dreadful.

Levi bit the inside of his cheek before he turned to catch up with his friends. He tried his best to push down the anxiety during the fifteen-minute walk to campus, but it only grew with every step. By the time the main building came into view, Levi almost felt like he was walking to the gallows. Hell, he almost expected the main building to morph into a guillotine on a set of raised dais before his very eyes. Hanji was oblivious, continuing to babble away to Erwin. Erwin plastered a happy look on his face but Levi could tell that something was bothering him too. His smile was too wide, the skin around his eyes too tense as he smiled at her.

All three of them froze, as if petrified by Medusa herself, as a high-pitched scream cut through the air like a scythe. That wasn't a scream of a student affected by a prank, or playing touch football on the grass behind the main building.

That was a scream of pure, undiluted terror.

For the second time that day, Levi's heart threatened to beat out of his chest as his eyes lasered onto the heavy oak doors of the main building. To him, it felt like the world had become still. He hadn't even realised he began to hold his breath as both heavy doors swung open, it struck the sides of the building so hard that he cringed at the thunderous clap.

It was chaos, pure unadulterated chaos. There was a mass mob of screaming students, all trying to flee the building at once. As Levi scanned their faces, he saw no hint of rational thinking. All their eyes were blown wide and rolling with terror. They were all screaming at the top of their lungs and they trampled each other as they all reverted to the instincts of an animal, the pure instinct to survive. Unfortunately, they were all like crabs in a bucket. So desperate to escape that they kept pulling each other back in, or to the ground to be at the mercy of dozens of feet.

A girl broke away from the crowd and tumbled out of the entranceway. She was screaming desperately as she popped out of the writhing crowd. Two people were hanging off her as she cried for help. One female student was latched securely onto the nape of her neck, another male student was hanging off her leg. Levi swallowed the bile that crept up his throat as he noticed her assailants had their teeth sunk into her. Blood poured from her wounds in dark rivers as she continued to scream in pain. The two attackers were growling, low and menacing like wild animals. The primal, guttural sound made the hairs on the back of Levi's neck stand on end. She had now reached the top of the steps and she promptly lost her footing. Levi swore that her body fell in slow motion, the male student that was latched onto her leg released their grip as they tumbled down the stairs. Her head struck the pavement with a sickening crunch, a mere ten feet away from them. Blood began to seep from her head as she slumped to the ground, her screaming silenced.

In the future, Levi will hope that the girl was either knocked out or that the impact killed her instantly. The girl that was latched onto her nape didn't waste a beat before she began to rip out chunks of flesh, swallowing the meat whole like she was a starving baby bird being fed by their mother.

"What the fuck." Levi whispered, "What the fuck is this."

Levi felt like his feet was superglued to the concrete beneath them. Beside him, Hanji held a hand in front of her mouth as her eyes focused on the girl's twitching body. Mercifully, Erwin kept his wits about him. His clever blue eyes narrowed onto the boy who had been gripping onto the girl's leg. The boy was growling as he raised himself shakily onto all-fours, seemingly unaffected by his tumble down the stairs. Levi frowned deeply as he noticed his eyes, they were clouded by cataracts. The pale, unblinking orbs were riveted on the three doctorate candidates in front of him and sucked Levi in deeper and deeper . . .

"Move." Erwin said, his deep, panicked voice yanked Levi back to himself instantaneously. "We need to fucking move."

Erwin's head was turned to the right, and Levi's eyes widened as he took in what Erwin had noticed. There was another group of screaming students running this way. They needed to get out of the way of the stampede. Now.

Erwin shoved Levi's shoulder, successfully spurring him into action and propelling him to the left of the building as he grabbed Hanji's hand within his own. The three of them broke into a sprint, Erwin eventually released Hanji's hand when it became apparent, she was going to run on her own. Levi chanced a glance over his shoulder, the boy at the bottom of the stairs was now on his feet and beginning to lurch after them. That only lit a fire under his ass as he added more speed into his legs, Erwin matched his pace easily with Hanji bringing up the rear.

Levi was at the front as they rounded the corner of the building. Beyond the main building was a large square, surrounded by lecture halls except for the library that was dead ahead. The wide green fields were in no better condition than the main building they were leaving behind. There were people attacking each other everywhere, a cacophony of screams assaulted his ears as he continued to run. He forced himself to ignore the absolute carnage that was erupting around them. What the fuck is going on? Levi snapped to himself. Everything was fine a moment ago, how can things go to shit this quickly?

"Lab!" Hanji screeched from the back, her voice just barely reached Erwin and Levi over the screaming. "We need to get to the lab!"

"Why? That's in the opposite direction! We should try the library ahead!" Levi shouted back; his eyes narrowed as he vaulted over a prone body in the grass. Blood pooled around it but the Earth refused to claim it, the ground too hard and cold to accept the rapidly cooling liquid.

Levi chanced a look over his shoulder as he hit the ground running again. Erwin vaulted the body as well, landing with barely a grunt. Just as Hanji was about to follow suit, the body moved. Its hand shot out as quick as a snake and encircled Hanji's ankle like a vice. She hit the ground hard, her face slammed so forcefully that Levi was shocked that her glasses didn't shatter upon impact. Erwin screamed her name, his voice high and desperate, as he turned mid-run, but Levi was faster.

Levi pivoted on the heel of his boot and sprinted back towards Hanji. She was screaming as the man in the dirt finally lifted his head. He was pulling Hanji towards him as drool and blood dripped down his dirt-streaked chin, his teeth gnashing against air. Levi reached backwards and grabbed his bamboo swords. Once both were in his hands, he leapt forward. Levi struck him in the mouth with the shorter sword in his right hand, which sent a couple of rotten teeth flying. He raised the longer sword in his left hand towards the sky before he brought it back down with all his strength onto the crown of his head. He felt the skull give way with an audible crack before the man sunk into the dirt once more, unmoving.

Hanji threw herself at Levi, her arms wrapped around one of his legs. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She babbled over and over.

"Don't mention it, Shitty Glasses." Levi murmured. She only released his leg once Erwin crouched beside her; she wrapped her arms around the tall blonde man's neck instead as she tried to calm herself down. Erwin looked sick as he crushed Hanji to his chest.

"Levi, I owe you one." Erwin murmured, but Levi only nodded at him as he wiped the blood off his sword into the grass at his feet.

"He was trying to bite me! Did you flipping see that? I thought he was dead!" Hanji poked the body with one finger after she detangled herself from Erwin's neck. "That's mental!"

"We've got to keep moving, before any more of these freaks take notice of us." Levi said flatly, his eyes darted around the carnage that continued to unfold around them. "Can you stand Hanji?"

Erwin stood, holding out one large hand to help Hanji to her feet again. She yelped as she placed her abused ankle onto the hard ground, tears of pain and frustration gathered in her eyes as she shook her head. No, she couldn't run anymore. Shit. Levi noticed that one of her lenses now had a neat crack down the middle from where her face had impacted with the ground. He marvelled, once again, at how lucky she was they hadn't shattered into her eyes.

Erwin acted quickly. He threw his backpack to the ground and crouched in front of her. "Get on Hanji," he said, his tone of voice left no room for arguing.

Hanji nodded, for once having the sense not to protest. She looped her arms around his neck as Erwin held her in place from under her thighs. They didn't speak, they wordlessly began to run across the field. Levi knew that they were too open out here, too many people, too many angles to get attacked from. There was also the complication of Erwin being weighed down by Hanji and the fact that she couldn't run by herself now . . .

Levi shook his head as he took gulps of air through his nose, a conscious effort to control his breathing as he ran. No, he couldn't allow those thoughts to creep through his head. They would get through this. They needed to get through this. They were almost across the field now, and Levi thought hard as to where they could retreat to next. The ideal place would be the medical centre on campus. The first benefit would be to get something to help Hanji with her ankle. The second, there may be staff or campus security in that building still. But there was one major complication with that plan.

The medical centre was in the opposite direction, where the carnage was now increasing in intensity rather than calming down. Levi was all too aware that the screaming was not as deafening as before, but there was a distinct lack of security or police, so that meant one thing.

People were either already dead or dying.

They were approaching the library now, the building loomed over the open field. What was once an inviting building that usually had a gaggle of students surrounding it, was now unsettlingly quiet. Oh, there were plenty of . . . people around. But they were all hunched over prone bodies, feasting on the victims beneath them as they gurgled blood or screamed fruitlessly. Levi looked right and left where the hell could they go now that the library wasn't safe? He looked down the path to the sports village, it was too far, they'd probably never make it. Levi thought he spotted something down the path, but he dismissed it and turned his back.

Think Levi, think. Frustration and rage swirled in his gut, a potent cocktail. Their feasting friends wouldn't stay distracted for long, they had to move. Now. The dim roar of an engine caused Levi to pause. It was coming up fast, louder and louder, but where was it coming from?

"LEVI LOOK OUT!" Hanji screamed from over Erwin's shoulder, catching the attention of the feasting students around them. They all started to rise from their kills, slowly turning to the trio that they were previously ignoring.

A high-pitched wail of breaks being harshly applied assaulted his ears, and Levi turned. Shock and confusion briefly rooted his feet in place as a white four-by-four squealed to a shuddering stop, mere inches from sending Levi sailing through the air.

This cocky fucker almost run me over! Levi internally raged before he raised his own narrow grey eyes to glare through the windscreen. A pair of wide ocean-green eyes stared back into his own from beyond the driver's seat.