ONE ʙʏ ONE

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

If you had told Eren a week ago that he would be kidnapped by Levi, who turned out to be a homicidal maniac, he would've told you that you were crazy. Yet, there he was, tied up and covered in the blood of god knows who. The first thing Eren noticed was the color — red. The room seemed to be illuminated in soft red light. It messed with Eren's eyes for a moment, but he became accustomed to it.

Eren tried moving, but his arms were tied down to the arms of a chair, his legs bound too. A sense of dread rose in him as the dreariness wore off and the adrenaline kicked in. His breath sped up, and he screamed in fear. A buzz of laughter erupted from the room, including Levi's that came from beside him.

"Mon amour, you're underground. No one can hear you!" Levi chuckled, running a thumb across Eren's jawline.

The panicked teen glanced around the room. To the right, there was a group of men whom Eren didn't know standing around Kenny. To the left, Armin and Carla sat pleasantly smiling at Eren as if nothing was happening — as if he wasn't tied up and bloody.

"M-Mom?" Eren gaped, thinking he might be hallucinating. "What are you doing here? H-Help me!"

Carla sighed and walked up to her son, tenderly patting his head. Levi stood straight and pressed the wrinkles out of his sleeve in respect of Carla, try to make a constant good impression. The motherly lady shushed her son sweetly.

"Honey, Honey, breathe! You're safe." Carla hummed.

"W-What?" Eren pulled at the restraints, but they weren't budging. "Mom, what are you talking about? Levi is dangerous! He killed someone!"

"Sh, sh, sh." Carla placed a loving kiss on his head. She then looked to Levi, smiling wider. "Eren, Levi is not dangerous. People like Girsha are dangerous." She placed a hand on each of Levi's shoulders, warmly laying the side of her head against the raven's. Everything about her screamed motherly; however, Eren saw her as psychotic at that moment. "Levi loves you, Eren, and I fully approve of him."

"I appreciate it, ma'am." Levi thanked, proudly puffing his chest.

"Listen to your mother, Eren," Carla's voice deepened authoritatively, "Levi is good for you. He's what you need."

Levi squinted his eyes and smiled smugly, seeing the utter confusion on Eren's face. The raven was overjoyed to have Carla on his side, convincing Eren to be with him. His manipulative skill was more than anyone could comprehend. He turned his friends against each other, Armin against his own morals, and now, he could even turn a mother against her own child. Levi had never felt more powerful than right in that moment.

Eren paused for a moment, not really sure what to say. He had never argued back to his mother, but everything she was saying was wrong. Tears swelled in his eyes, and Carla wiped them away.

"P-Please...someone...help me." Eren had lost all hope, but it was only going to get worse.

"I know, honey, but you need to heal by removing the toxicity in your life."

"W-What do you mean?"

Carla nodded towards Levi, and the raven told hold of the back of the chair. Eren was spun to face the other side of the room. The tortured boy's blood ran ice cold as his eye fell on a line of the people he knew, tied up and gagged. Each of them was struggling for freedom, knowing death was quickly approaching.

From left to right: Sasha, Mikasa, Marco, Connie, Hange, Jean, and Zeke. Erwin stood behind them in front of the door, prepared to stop any that tried to escape. Levi retrieved a knife from a table that sat against the wall and slowly stepped towards Sasha. The cloth muffled her screams, and her hair frantically swayed side to side as she tried to pull the ropes loose.

"L-Levi, please! Don't do it!" Eren begged, his vision blurry from tears. The horrified teen looked to his friend. "Armin, please! Please, stop this!"

"Nothing is going to stop this, Eren." Levi monotoned, raising the knife to Sasha's throat. The girl froze, tears still flowing from her waterline. "They're gonna die."

Levi undid the cloth around Sasha's mouth. She was trembling with her heart beating in her eardrums. "P-Please, don't kill me. I didn't do anything to you! I haven't done anything!"

Levi moved to stand in front of Sasha. He stood down close to her, glaring into her soul. "You got too close to my territory." He returned to standing behind her, and Eren continuously screamed for Levi to stop.

At this point, Eren was desperate. "I'll love you, okay? I promise. I'll mean everything I said at the party." His voice was cracking. "I'll be good, I swear!"

Levi smiled softly as he walked towards Eren. A fraction of an ounce of hope lit up his eyes. The teen thought that maybe Levi believed him and he was going to let everyone go. Levi gently kissed Eren's cheek, wanting to kiss him more selectively but refrained since his mother was there. He wanted to act respectful to his mother, so he was willing to be modest when she was around.

Levi's voice was sweeter than silk as he snickered, "I know you will, mon amour~."

"S-So you'll let them go?"

"Oh, Eren," Levi sighed, somewhat frustrated, "of course...not."

Levi thundered back to Sasha, who let out a shrill scream. Eren let out a cry as Levi raised his knife above her, but Kenny's men just chuckled at the futile begging. As quick as lightning, Levi brought the blade down and across her throat. Her screams turned to gurgles as blood began leaking out of her mouth. The laceration splattered gore across the room and onto Levi; however, the red light made it nearly impossible to see. 

Sasha's head drooped, meaning she was clearly dead. The other lined up next to her stared at her, knowing that they would soon be next. Kenny and his group snickered at their horrified expressions. Armin was quietly observing from the corner, an empty expression matching Levi's monotoned one. Carla gave him a reassuring side hug to encourage him to smile. 

Levi ran a hand through his hair and looked to the line of victims. "Alright, then. Who's next?"

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We're going full psycho now! What do you guys think? I wanted everyone in that room to give off an uncomfortable feeling, like a psychopath's aura.

What will happen? Who is next?

Twitter => @OrquidieaWriter

Toodles