Paralysis (Underground Levi x Reader)

24.1K 509 269
                                    

Author's Note: You all know how much I love Sarah J Maas, and this oneshot includes a few nods to her "Throne of Glass" series. See if you can spot them. ;)


As skilled as you were, you couldn't take on four, heavily muscled guys at once. So you ran.

The winding, dark alleys were deserted at this time of night. It wouldn't have mattered, anyway. No one helped anyone down here, unless you were in their gang. That was why you were running – to get as close as possible to where Levi was supposed to meet you. He was the strongest person you'd ever seen, and with him at your back, you knew you could take these guys down.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. In your haste, you took a wrong turn, and you suddenly found yourself staring at a dead end.

There was nothing left to do but fight. You put your back to the wall, facing your pursuers. They slowed as they entered the alley and realized you were trapped. Slimy, terrifying smiles spread across their faces.

You focused on your breathing and tried to recall everything Levi had taught you about close combat. While these guys were bigger, you had speed and agility on your side. Not to mention, they probably weren't expecting much of a fight from a skinny little thing like you. Their mistake.

You shifted to hide the knives that you slid into your hands. Then a smile of your own graced your lips.

It all happened in an instant. The thugs rushed you, and you managed to take out three of them before the fourth grazed you with his knife. It was just a scratch on your arm – you barely registered it. Until that arm started to go numb.

"W-what..." you stammered as the numbness spread throughout your body. Your knives clattered to the ground. You sank down behind them, your legs no longer able to hold you.

"Like it?" one of the men asked as he got up off the ground. "It's pretty rare stuff – given to us by Rourke Farran himself. You know, the man you just tried to rob."

You could just barely feel yourself shaking through the numbness. No, no, there had to be some mistake. Rourke Farran was a monster, even amongst the gangs of the Underground City. Levi never would have sent you to steal from him. Unless, Levi didn't know...

"It's called gloriella," the man continued. "One scrape, and you can't even lift a finger." He chuckled darkly. "Oh, don't worry, the numbness will wear off in a few minutes. But you still won't be able to move for another six hours. At least, that's how long it took the last girl. We had a nice, long time to play with her."

You had once chance. You could feel the numbness sweeping over your throat, your tongue. But you opened your mouth and screamed, with everything you had left in you. It came out as nothing more than a croak.

The men only laughed as they formed a half-circle around you. Their leader knelt down and roughly grabbed your chin in his hand. "We're going to have a lot of fun with you, too," he purred. "And the best part is, you'll feel every bit of it." He brought his knife to your cheek, slicing a thin line right along the bone.

Suddenly, the man's comrade flew into him, and they both went down. The other two men turned, expressions of shock painted on their faces. They didn't even have time to grab their weapons before they, too, were on the ground.

Without the man holding you up, you had fallen on your side. You couldn't move, couldn't look to see who had saved you – if indeed you were saved. For all you knew, things just got a whole lot worse.

Until Levi was there, kneeling in front of you. "Are you alright?" he asked frantically. "(F/n), talk to me!"

But your lips wouldn't move. You could only stare up at him, trying to convey with your eyes what you couldn't with words.

Levi x Reader OneshotsWhere stories live. Discover now