° 19 °

"You're sure you haven't seen him?" I asked Hanji, the only person I've seen Levi consistently hang out with.

"Nope, he hasn't met me at the bus stop like he normally does for the past two days... He's probably just skiving. Why do you ask?"

"Uh, I'm his partner for an art project... just wondering." I replied. I thanked him and said goodbye before walking to my locker. 

To Shortie☆:
Levi, I'm getting really worried. Where are you? Why won't you answer my texts? Are you okay?

I sighed and stared at my phone. I hadn't seen Levi since he dropped me home. That was now two days ago... panic was setting in.

Suddenly a small flicker on my phone screen caught my attention.

Message read: 11:34am

My fingers have never moved so fast in my life.

To Shortie ☆:
Levi!?

It was instant this time.

Message read: 11:34am

I waited for a while for those three little dots to pop up, the dots that would tell me Levi is typing, but they never came. 

I growled a little and glared at my phone, somehow willing it to make him answer.

To Shortie ☆:
You're not gonna answer me?

Message read: 11:36am

...

Those dots. Oh my those dots. I've never been so happy to see those dots.

And then all at once, my sudden relief was thrown away. My blood ran cold as I reread the sentence over and over.

From Shortie ☆:
Stop messaging him. If you continue, I'll make you wish you hadn't. Understand?

No... no, no, no, no, no.
This can't be happening. 

From Shortie ☆:

1 file attached.

Any remaining hope that this was all a prank shattered as I opened that file.

A picture of Levi, arms and legs tied to a chair, blood dripping from his nose and a nasty wound on the side of his head.

From Shortie ☆:
And remember, snitches get stitches. Tell anyone of this, and you both get it. Don't give me the opportunity to ruin your life :)

I heard my phone clatter to the floor, my hands frozen in their place due to shock but I didn't care. Levi is in trouble, he needs help. And I'll be damned if I sit here and watch him get hurt because I refuse to say anything.

My mind went into overdrive as I analysed every little thing Levi had ever told me. About himself, about his family, how he's doing in school, everything.

The bathroom.

He passed out. 

He kept mumbling.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Kenny."

This 'Uncle Kenny' is the only lead I have so far.

I'm not gonna let Levi slip through my fingers. 

I felt dizzy and nauseous. Where the hell could he be and what could he possibly have done to get himself in this situation?

I tried to calm my racing mind as I picked up my phone and grabbed my belongings from my locker but the questions just kept coming. I raced down the hall, on my way to the exit when I bumped into something tall and firm. 

I mumbled an apology to the person and went to move around them but they stepped with me, blocking my path.

"Mr Jaeger. Unless your timetable has suddenly been changed, which I highly doubt, I believe you're supposed to be in my lesson." Mr Kasai said with his normal monotone voice.

I looked up at him determinedly. There are more pressing issues than advanced calculus right now.

"I'm sorry sir but there's a family emergency. I need to leave right away." I said before pulling my bag more securely on my shoulder and going to move past him but once again he stopped me.

"Do you have a note?"

I sighed and ran a hand down my face in distress, every second I waste could put Levi in even more danger.

"Yes, of course. I have a note excusing my absence for a very sudden and unexpected emergency." I said sarcastically. "Listen, my family needs me and I haven't got time to be standing here and supporting my point when they're expecting me. I apologize for my rudeness but I'm leaving now whether you want me to or not." 

The words tumbled from my mouth before I had fully thought them through and though my tone was strong, I felt anything but. I took one last glance at his mildly shocked expression before I stepped around him and ran down the hall, not giving him much of a chance to protest.

When I had passed the main reception and the calls of some random teacher faded into the distance, I took out my phone and brought up the picture that I had received just a few minutes ago. 

I cringed as I saw all the cuts and bruises on Levi's exposed skin and averted my eyes to anything that could give me a clue as to where he could be. 

An aged and rusty metal fence could be seen in the background, a large portion of it carved out to form a rather familiar symbol. Where the hell have I seen that!?

I groaned a little in frustration as my mind drew a blank. I know I've seen that somewhere before...

I had been walking mindlessly for around ten minutes now, my body seemingly moving of it's own accord. I looked up when I realized this and tried to figure out where the hell I was. Large fields surrounded me, cows peacefully eating the grass that they could reach through the small gaps in their fences. 

I glanced back down to my phone and noticed that I also had no signal, meaning I couldn't even text or call someone for help.

I sighed and kept walking along the small dirt path until it came to a crossroads. I looked down the path on the left to see more fields, stretching on for miles. Contrasting greatly, the right path got progressively darker the further my eyes traveled and eventually finished at the entrance to what looked to be a dingy forest. Dark grey clouds were situated over the very top of the bare trees, which can I just add, were fucking ginormous even from where I was standing. 

I felt an unusually large tug in the pit of my stomach just looking at it.

I looked to the left path again, biting my lip as I saw the sunlight beaming down and some horses trotting gracefully in their fields. Left seemed to be the safer option.

I bit back a groan and tried to block out the thought which was repeating over and over in my head as I made my decision. 

'This is exactly what happens in the movies right before someone dies.'

Yeah... my mind has a way of being both sarcastic and overly pessimistic even in the worst of situations. 

I took the right path towards the forest.

The tugging feeling in my stomach got stronger with every step that I took until I was no longer nervous about the choice that I had made. This felt right in a weird, instinctual kind of way.

I weaved in and out of the trees as the forest got a little denser, the tiniest bit of light filtering through the branches. Twigs snapped underneath me as I walked, that being the only sound that I could hear aside from my heavy breathing. After a while of this I was almost completely submerged in darkness, the branches packed so densely above so that it was almost impossible to see the sky.

It seemed like I was walking for an eternity but it could only have been about twenty to thirty minutes in reality. The feeling in my stomach became almost overwhelming as I came to a stop outside an old abandoned... castle? Holy shit this place is huge.

A rusty and aged metal fence could be seen, peeking just slightly around the corner of the building. 

I felt my eyes widen as I realized where I had somehow mindlessly wandered to... the chances of this happening had to be close to impossible right?

As the setting and situation finally set in, I tried to calm my panicked breathing and to remain as quiet as possible as I slowly crept towards the fence, the same large symbol carved into it. A tree made up intricately of human bones. 

It seemed that the fence was actually the wall to a building that was smaller than the castle but still rather large, it kind of had a warehouse vibe to it. 

Suddenly a voice echoed from inside the warehouse thingy and I froze. 

Levi.

"What on earth makes you think that I'd want to work for you? I escaped from this shitty ass life once and I don't intend on coming back."

"Now, now Levi. There's no need to be so hostile towards me, I'm here to help you."

There was a pause before a humourless laugh could be heard. 

"I'm tied to a fucking chair. Don't think that I'll be drawn back in with your shitty little mind games you sadistic fucker."

I would've laughed at the choice of wording if he weren't so tense. I slowly crept closer to a gap in the fence, looking through.

A lanky figure was standing with his back to me, silhouetted thanks to the dim lighting and dressed like he were from the victoriana era. A little way in front sat Levi with a sour look on his face, that is until he caught me moving out of his peripheral vision.

The lanky guy turned and began to pace slowly just as Levi's eyes widened. I pressed a finger to my lips and shook my head softly, telling him not to make it obvious that I was there.

Levi gave a small nod and then returned to his previous sour expression, following the man with his eyes.

"Even if I did come back. What would be the point? You have plenty of fine men at your disposal." He said bitterly.

The man turned to Levi as I crept further along the fence and towards the entrance, which was just a large rectangular hole in the dirty metal. I waited just around the corner, waiting for the right time to sneak in.

The man laughed, it was rough and sinister sounding, making a small shiver run down my spine.

"You know full well little Lev that you're worth a hundred of those little pawns."

I peeked around the corner to see Levi arch up in his chair and spit directly in the man's face.

"Eat shit." He replied, venom lacing his tone.

The man grew rigid and slowly brought a hand to his face to wipe the spit away. In one swift movement he was right in front of Levi, his knuckles growing white from his hard grip on the arms of his chair and his face extremely close.

I slipped through the opening and slowly tiptoed until I was a few feet behind him.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that." He growled, and then he pounced.

His hands went to Levi's neck, squeezing hard and making Levi gasp irregularly. His hands clawed at the fingers that were cutting off his air supply, his eyes going wide.

In that moment, as the image before me registered in my brain, all I saw was red.

I ran forward and jumped on the guys back, using all my strength to pull him away. In his shock, his grip on Levi's neck slackened and the male took the opportunity to lean forward and headbutt him.

He stumbled and fell backwards, his hands moving to reach towards me but I moved out of the way just in time. I wrapped my arms around his neck and used my weight to my advantage, leaning backwards towards the ground.

As we hit the floor he let out a low grunt of pain but I didn't let that stop me. I was on him in a second, pinning him down and raising a fist to punch him square in the face over and over.

A sickening crack was heard the first time, a dull thud the next, and after that everything became a blur.

It was only when the man's eyes had closed and he went limp beneath me that I paused, fist frozen mid air.

"He's out cold." Levi said from behind me and I jumped, forgetting that he was even there in my sudden fit of rage.

I got off the guy and moved towards Levi, making short work of the rope around his wrists that had left the skin underneath red and swollen.

As soon as the ropes were undone I was tackled to the ground. I let out a betraying yelp but was cut off as hands cupped my face and lips met my own.

I relaxed beneath Levi as he kissed me, my arms slowly reaching up to wrap around his neck as I kissed back.

Eventually he pulled away and put his forehead to mine.

"You are a blessing." He whispered softly and I smiled.

He got up and then outstretched a hand towards me, which I took.

"How did you-" I cut him off with my hand and shook my head.

"Questions later. Let's go to mine and get you warmed up and first aided. You're like ice." I said with a smile.

He nodded slowly and I took my hand away from his face to intertwine it with his, leading him towards the gap that I had entered through. 

I let everything sink in slowly. 

I had found him when he needed me most...

How the hell did I do that?

Maybe I'm a little bit more invested in this relationship than I thought I was...

•••

Woah, Max updated Polyglot?

Sorry lmao I kinda hate this story tbh but I promised an update so here 🙏 take this pile of dung and I hope you enjoyed.

Also yes I did notice that this kinda sounds like the recent update of Child's Play. Shhh. You didn't see anything.  👀

Let me know what you thought of this chapter...

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Let me know what you think should happen next...

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Thank you for reading.

Constructive criticism is always welcome, as are you. :)

~Max
  Xx

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