A/N Inspired by the book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I screamed, my knees buckling, my eyes blinded by the mess of my brown hair falling over them. I clutched at my thigh, my fingers tracing the deep teeth marks that would no doubt leave a scar. 'Levi!' I called out, no reply. I heard grunts, the fighting was still going on. It was only a few demons, mangy bloodsuckers that we had been told to kill- at least the pay was decent for these ones. 'Levi!' I called again. This time, I felt a palm clutching the exact spot where the teeth had sunk in, ripping the flesh apart. The teeth of a demon that I had lost my sword to as I plunged it into his heart.

'What the hell did you do now, Eren?' Levi sighed, the black sparks beginning to encase his hands as he attempted to heal the bite, his magic weak from overuse. I shrugged, gritting my teeth to ignore the biting pain. I looked down to see the marks closing over, the flow of blood seeping through lessening. 'I don't have time to get rid of the poison. Get out. Mikasa will come when we've killed them.' His usual boredom was tinted with fear. We were taught to deal with situations such as these but that didn't make it any easier. Demon poison wasn't something that Levi could just fix.

Demon poison could be a death sentence.

I paid no attention to the continuous pain. Trying to blind myself instead of having to watch the guts of the demons spill against the pavements. Humans were lucky, they never had to see this. They couldn't see this. Humans did not have the sight and without the sight, the shadow world was hidden behind the veil of black that only otherworldly creatures could pull back. Such as shadowhunters, like me, warlocks, that was Levi and more. Vampires, werewolves, seelies, all of them. All able to see behind the veil. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Through blurred eyes, I watched the fighting, all hope of not seeing the gruesome scene lost. At least, with the knowledge that it was Levi fighting, I felt a little more comfort. Especially with the fact that he was not fighting to kill but to protect me. That was Levi, despite his nonchalant personality, and often quite rude attitude, he protected the ones he loved to his dying breath. And somewhere along the journey, I had become one of those loved ones.

'Eren, Eren, are you okay?' I panicked voice came, a girl's, quiet and calm. Mikasa, no doubt. She must have spotted the wound, she wouldn't have stopped fighting unless she had. Mikasa, my adopted sister, worried for me- often too much. But, now, it seemed fair for her to worry, especially with Levi's clearly better skills on the battlefield being put to use. Although, it could be debated. Levi may have been strong but Mikasa's stealth was next to none and being a shadowhunter, she had perks that he did not. Just as he had skills that she did not possess too.

I nodded, the ache returning as I focused in on it again. My distraction had been stripped away and I couldn't help but curse at Mikasa under my breath as she examined the wound. The very, very painful wound. My thigh held the brunt of it, the teeth marks clearly visible just below my pelvis. The pain had spread though, the poison slowly trying to make it's way to my heart. My sister drew out her stele, something similar to a wand used by shadowhunters- a gift from the angels- that could grant us many gifts. One of those being healing. She drew the healing rune, a tattoo that was produced when the stele was pressed against the skin, but it did nothing- it was to be expected. Healing runes were useful but they were not meant to treat poisons. Shadowhunters would be no less than unkillable if that were the case.

In that moment, I truly thought I was going to die.

By the time the last demon had his heart ripped from his chest and had been sent back to the hellish place it came from, I was blind. The poison, it seemed, has reached my eyes before my heart despite them being much further away. Or, almost more realistically, the shock had sent me into this state. Although I fought demons on a daily basis- it was my job for God's sake- so why now was I suddenly like this?

I had always feared death. It was inevitable. I was a warrior, I was bound to the contract of a death far too early. That fear sent me reeling. At some thoughts, I had found my head over a sink, gagging. At other times, much milder times, I found myself writhing as if in pain. Fear was never something I had dealt with very well. Maybe it was due to me not having many fears at all. In fact, maybe I only had one.

A fear of death in the face of death was not a mix that was supposed to happen. If my body could force the contents of my stomach into a sink at the thought of death, I was sure death itself could cause blindness. It could also cause much, much worse. But what could it do? Kill you? Give you your worst nightmare whilst also freeing you from the pain?

Some called it a phobia. I had never heard of a phobia before. Thanatophobia. A fancy word for something very simple. Levi was talking, I recognised that, at least. But, the blindness was no better than being unconscious. Something inside me swirled and without warning, I was hurling onto, what I assumed was, the pavement. Hopefully not Levi, his clean freak nature would probably cause him to follow suit.

'Levi, what's happening.' Oh, right. I hadn't told Mikasa, had I? It wasn't a well-known fact. I had revealed it to Levi in one of my worst moments, back home with my mum, dad and friends I kept it to myself. I was silent, shivering in the loneliness of my bedroom. That was until I met Levi and it all came flooding out. Now, when it hit me, I huddled up by his side and let him soothe down my hair until my breathing regulated.

'He's trying to live by killing himself.' A statement that made no sense, clearly Mikasa could not follow. She continued to ramble on but Levi ignored her, scooping me into his arms and hushing me, smoothing down my hair just as he always did. But, this time was different. This time, I felt the buzz of his magic as he tried to drive the poison away. It was clear that he could not do this on the street, though, his energy was depleting quickly. He was dying just as quickly as I was.

'How far is the Institute from here?' Levi asked. The Institute, my home, could be miles away. If it was, it was clear now that we were both dead.

'Minutes.' Mikasa sounded sure, letting another slither of hope seep through. I felt Levi nod, his head just by mine before I was lifted off the ground, my vision still black and was being carried in the direction of, no doubt, the Institute.

'Levi.' I whimpered in his arms, shivering. 'I don't want to die.' What were supposed to be strong words were the weakest I had ever spoken. I sounded no better than a child. Maybe I was, I had only just reached eighteen a couple of weeks ago.

I was no better than a child.

'Calm down, calm down.' He assured, his blunt nature stripped, leaving him bare. I knew it was all for me and I couldn't help but be selfish and be glad that he was being open, even if the paranoia inside him was breaking loose. Maybe, within the short journey, he would join me in blindness.

I shut my eyes, it made no difference but at least the tears could no longer flow in floods. My eyelids were the faulty floodgates, the water still seeping through, burning my cheeks like acid. 'Levi.' I whimpered, again, reaching out for him- longing for even the slightest more contact. The arms holding me were not enough, not if this would be the last chance I got to touch him.

'We're nearly there.' He reassured and somewhere in the next few seconds I was sure I could hear Mikasa sob, followed by Armin's calm and calculated voice. He was trying to comfort her and failing, no surprise there. I almost wanted to myself. I couldn't. I was a blind, immobile man whose fear had been the cause of his stripped away sight.

My hands found Levi's chest. I grasped at the smooth skin as if it were the stone of a cliff. To no avail, my hands only fell down again. With nothing to hold my hands up, my arms' strength lost long ago, they fell back into my lap. The sobs rang clearer and louder. Mine much louder than the others. It was when I felt a foreign drip on my face that my crying ceased, if only just for a second.

Levi. Levi was crying. Crying because of me. Crying because I was dying. Oh god, I was dying. I didn't want to die. I couldn't die. No. This wasn't happening. No, this was not happening. This was definitely not happening.

'The Institute, we're here!' Mikasa called out, my body starting to shake, the demon poison running through my blood like fire.

'Clear the path to the infirmary!' Levi called, the tears still streaming down his cheeks- his dignity lost. He no longer cared for it. Mikasa must have nodded, I heard no return call, my eyes still useless as I stared dully at the black sky. A sea of darkness.

'You're going to be okay, Eren. You're going to be fine.' Levi choked out, his grasp on my much tighter than before. Movement stopped, then a creak of a door and a flurry of shouts, screams, cries and running. I can't remember it all. The activity around me was too much to comprehend with just my ears.

And then, silence. This wasn't just fear anymore. This was death's bite. My breathing was unstable, my heart palpitations irregular as I convulsed and panicked. Fear wounded me like a knife slicing my throat. The venom pained me like salt to an open wound.

The fear would always be worse than the pain. I screamed; I couldn't hear it. There was only silence and the beating of my heart- an imaginary sound made by my own mislead brain. I screamed again, not even my mind could make a sound now. I was stuck in limbo, a void. Blackness encased me, silence surrounded me. I was alone. I was dying. I could have been dead. Death had never scared me more.

'Eren! Someone get the defibrillator!' It was nothing but a distant echo, my mind registering little of who spoke or what of. What was a defibrillator again? Who was Eren? My mind was fading in and out and then, as had happened so often, I wasn't able to think at all. Death held me in its grasp.

...

I woke to a fierce kiss to my lips. Despite the instinct to push the unknown off me, I simply let myself calm and melt into it. And, when they pulled away and saw my flushed cheeks and bright eyes, I was surprised to see Levi, who was no better than tripping over his own feet in surprise.

'Levi?' I asked, wanting to help but feeling trapped to the bed- my legs metal and my muscles paralysed.

'Eren.' He choked out, his eyes brimming with tears as he wrapped his frail arms around my torso. 'It's really you.' He sobbed. My eyes widened in exclamation. Was Levi...crying? Levi didn't cry. This was impossible.

The bigger question, what just happened?

word count: 2362

published: 15.06.17