Allen Walker awoke with a start. His chest heaved as his heart beat strained against his ribs, and his milky white skin was bathed in a sheen of sweat that seemed to glow in the moonlight shimmering through his window. He sat up in his bed and held his head in his hands, attempting to forget the events that conspired in his most recent nightmare. His mind betrayed him as it sadistically made him relive his frightening dream.

He was in a familiar, pure white room. It made him recall the pallid walls of the Musician's room inside the ark, but there was no grand piano nor the posh couch he'd regained consciousness on when he'd first visited the quarters. There was no mirror that reflected the black shadow of the Fourteenth, the figure that often appeared in his nightmares, the one who would soon take over his body, leaving not a trace of its original occupant.

No, this room was simply white, and it blended in with his abnormal hair color quite nicely. There was no floor, nor were there walls, so it really wasn't a room at all. The fact that he was standing in a place like this meant Physics didn't apply here, which also led him to the knowledge that this was a dream. Even so, the dull, empty space he stood in put him on edge.

It was too white.

The innocence in the color seemed to devour the area; there was no black, nor were there even shades of grey. This meant that darkness would soon come and wreak havoc upon this place, to restore balance, to add contrast.

He involuntarily trembled at the sight of the figure that suddenly appeared across from him. It, he, slowly sauntered over to the boy as though they had all the time in the world; then again, Allen supposed that time wasn't of importance in dreams. As the man got closer Allen could make out his facial features more easily. The smirk that adorned the person's youthful face was that of a predator stalking his prey. The boy's trepidation grew as he realized he was the prey, and his blood ran cold as he realized just who this was.

Allen had never seen his true face before. He had always been a shadow, one that Allen saw in every window, every mirror, in any surface that could reflect. Right behind Allen, the Fourteenth always stood. A perpetual grin was always plastered onto his simplified cartoonish face, as though in constant mirth. The exaggerated jagged teeth in that mouth seemed ready to eat him alive. Sadly, Allen had gotten used to the constant presence looming behind him and was almost to the point of dismissing the reflection when he went to brush his teeth.

Almost.

The Fourteenth still remained a constant in his nightmares, a reminder that the clock was ticking, that it was only a matter of time until Allen Walker would be no more.

As honestly frightened as he was, though, Allen would not go down without a fight and would suppress the Fourteenth as long as he could. Then, if his body was taken hostage, if he began to wreak havoc on the Order and all of his friends, he wouldn't hesitate to take his own life, if that's what would insure his makeshift family's safety. Until then, he would deal with the night terrors and swallow the fear in daylight.

But right now, his fight or flight response was telling him to run.

Though adrenaline was flooding through his body, his initial response was quite sluggish. He took a shaky step back then seemed to stumble over some nonexistent force. Time seemed to slow as he was suspended in air and, eventually, landed flat on his butt.

The Fourteenth's response was instantaneous, and he was kneeling in front of Allen within a blink. He had the grey skin of a corpse along with the golden eyes that all Noah had in common. Allen was sure there were 7 stigmata on the forehead beneath the man's wavy, dark hair also. A feral grin was worn on his attractive features as he leaned close to Allen's face and merely stared at him. This grin, like the cartoon's, was of a hungry predator ready to eat him alive.

As the silence continued all Allen could hear was the pounding of his own heart. It beat as though Lavi had taken his hammer and struck a steel building with it repeatedly. The tense silence was nearly suffocating as the Fourteenth continued to leer at Allen whilst his heart continued beating like a hammer.

Allen seemed snap out of whatever daze he'd been in and finally decided to flee, something he'd never do when awake, but often did when he slept. He hopped up and sprinted away as though his life depended on it and didn't look back.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been running nor did he care; as long as he had gotten away from the Fourteenth, he was content.

When his running finally ceased Allen collapsed to his knees in exhaustion; he hadn't realized he was so tired. His breaths came out in pants, and he grasped the fabric of his shirt over his heart as he tried to steady his breathing. He looked around him for any traces of the Noah as he did so and was marginally pleased that the man hadn't made his appearance once again. He grasped his chest tighter as he continued his efforts to slow his frantic breaths but to no avail. His heart persistently beat.

Like a hammer.

All breathing stopped when he felt a firm hand clasp onto his ankle and pull him through the nonexistent floor.

It was at that moment that Allen promptly woke up, and after reliving his dream he wanted nothing more than to run, which is exactly what he did.

He raced down the Order's grand hallways in his pajamas with no set destination in mind, just to get away from his room and avoid all mirrors. He hadn't been looking where he was going when he ran into her. He halted his efforts when they collided. She stumbled but didn't fall and looked up at Allen questioningly.

It was Lenalee, and if the fact that she was still in her uniform and up at this time of night indicated anything, it showed that she had just returned from her mission and was probably headed back to her room nearby Allen's.

"What're you doing up, Allen? Where's the rush?" she asked, the usual genuine sugary sweetness of her personality coating her voice along with slight concern.

"None of your business," he rudely brushed her off and continued his race down the hall as though there was fire licking his feet. He was sure Lenalee had a look of disbelief upon her face at the moment, but he didn't particularly care. His typical mask of politeness had fallen as he tried to escape the horrors of his dreams, and it was hard to be soft, tough to be tender, as the adrenaline raced through his veins.

He eventually stopped his running through the halls when he'd reached an unoccupied part of the Order. Almost every room of this hall was empty, waiting for someone to take up residence inside. That meant no one could possibly be leaving their rooms at night, for the bathroom and such, and see him.

He plopped down against a wall and breathed deeply. His heart beat steadily, fast, and it told him he was still alive. No matter what physical trauma he went through, no matter how many times he should have died, his heart stubbornly kept beating.

Like a Hammer.

A/N: The listen to "Help I'm Alive" by Metric The STYTE remix and you'll see how this is a songfic. It may not be obviously so, but it is ;)

EDIT: I merely fixed some mistakes and added more of an A/N

This was written on impulse. I had the idea of Allen's dream in my mind for a while and wanted to make a PV (picture video) out of it and put it to this song. Then, I got the idea of actually writing it out and the idea wouldn't leave my mind.