There was a couple of vampire bodies laying around in blood when they exited the large cave-like room, and fortunately there was no human corpse in sight. Although many of them were dead, there were still some vampires lurking in the shadows and watching as Levi, Jean and Sasha made their way down the long, stretched out corridor. The air was foul and smelled of rust and mold, and there was no light guiding them except for a weakening oil lantern Sasha was smart enough to bring along.

The vampires showed no sign that they were going to attack and so they decided not to attack either; it would be tiring and a waste of time. Levi guessed that Petra must have used her abilities to tell her goons to back down... for now. Knowing her, she would want to kill them all herself. Levi held Eren close as he thought long and hard about Petra's words. It was certain that she was going to come back after them, because she always told the truth.

"So uh," Sasha started as she fiddled with an arrow. "You're, uhm, his boyfriend, huh."

Levi smirked. The word "boyfriend" was so ahead of his time and sounded so weird to his ears. He saw this kind of question coming because a human having a vampire as a significant other was a bit too taboo for their generation. It was as if a hawk fell in love with a parakeet; it was not wrong, but it was definitely dangerous, especially if said vampire lover was rogue. He adjusted the way in which he was carrying Eren so that he was holding him bridal-style and looked down at his resting face. Now that he thought about it, he never really asked Eren to be his lover. It just sort of happened. It was like one of those situations where you didn't need to think or say anything about it because it was so natural.

"What else would I be?" he questioned sarcastically and he showed her a little grin. "He gets irritated with me professing my love for him verbally, but I guess you can say I am his boyfriend."

"You're probably only using him," Jean mumbled to himself but coughed so that his words were harder to hear.

"Excuse me?" Although he was weak and wasn't feeling too well, his senses were as sharp as daggers. He shot a death glare at Jean.

"Well, you're rogue aren't you? Your kind get too thirsty and you're probably using him as a personal beverage for all we know."

"Jean, stop it," Sasha hissed as she gave one big obvious nudge to his shoulder.

"No, he's right," Levi reassured her. She stared at him with disbelief. "At least, that's what it was like at first. I have been a vampire for a few hundred years but I still think like a human at times, and I know myself that humans mistake wanting something for love. I wanted high quality blood and he had it, so I thought I loved him. Now it's different, he isn't a sack of food to me. Hell, I haven't had a drink in a week now if I can remember correctly." He appeared to look lost in thought. "If he told me he didn't want me drinking from him anymore, I would obey even if it meant certain death. He's a bit stubborn and dumb at times but he has me wrapped around his little finger."

Jean and Sasha didn't reply because there was no need to say anything at all.

"He's breathing a little louder now. Perhaps he's waking up," Levi said as he brushed Eren's cheek with his gentle fingers. "Oh my... he's awfully warm."

"Maybe he has a flu?" Sasha suggested as she looked over at him.

"No... Something's wrong. I can feel it," Levi said with worry.

"We'll check him out as soon as we get out of this creepy place," Jean told him.

Levi was just about to argue but figured that Jean's way would be better. If they lay him out in the middle of the corridor it would increase the chance of someone sneaking up on them and possibly even attacking. Levi quickened his walking pace, which caused the two other humans to jog in order to keep up. It was definitely a long hallway and he was growing impatient within each second. He started to run until his ankles ached but not too fast to the point where both Sasha and Jean couldn't keep up. They were all sprinting now.

Daylight broke onto his sweat glistening face as he finally reached the entrance (or exit) of Petra' hideout. From the outside, it appeared to be a crumbled castle; massive boulders strewn around and cracked bricks literally the area like garbage. Levi wobbled as he kneeled down and set Eren down carefully. He ran his shaking fingers through the familiar brown hair and lightly shook his arms with his other hand. Eren's mouth was open in desperate attempts to keep breathing, and his chest was rising and falling irregularly.

"Eren?" Levi whispered. "Eren."

He stirred, but got no response. His lips were cracked and pearls of sweat rolled down his neck and jaw, staining his already dirtied shirt.

"Should I go get Hanji? She's experienced in the medical field," Sasha said as she pointed to the distance with her thumb.

Levi slowly shook his head as his eyes widened in horror. "No. Something's wrong," he repeated.

He frantically ripped the buttons off Eren's shirt and pulled it down to reveal his neck, which had what Levi feared the most. Just above his right collarbone was a terrifying looking teeth mark with two dots in particular that seemed to stand out; they were almost like tiny craters in his flesh. Dried blood was already crusting up around the wound but even so it didn't stop fresh blood from pumping out in some areas. The skin around the bite was turning pale and veiny with soft hues of red and purple. Levi felt as if his guts had just been wrenched out of his body.

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AN:

I intended for this chapter to have 3000+ words but I decided it would be a cool idea to cut it just when there's a cliff hanger! ^^

fear not, the next chapter will be uploaded fairly quickly.

~your friend takeshi