The Altered.

Chapter IX.

It had been ten minutes silently observing the patterns in the stars before either of the boys said anything.

Aaron sat up, and then spoke.

"I think we need to go look for the girls."

Miles sat up, too, facing Aaron. Miles noticed how the blond's eyes shone with worry, undoubtedly for his sister. If Miles had been anybody else - anybody who had cared much - he'd have said something reassuring. In this case, though, he wasn't especially worried for solely Eira.

Miles cast a glance to where his phone still lay after he'd thrown it. "I wish I could call them. There are too many places they could be at this point." And there were potential dangers waiting for the boys to emerge from safety.

"It's been almost half an hour since we were meant to meet them," Aaron pressed. "They've probably been trying to call but your phone is obviously faulty right now. I don't like Eira being with Lia. She killed somebody."

"Yeah, the same somebody who would have killed you otherwise." Miles was crawling towards his phone, unwilling to leave it behind even though it wasn't functioning properly right now. "Lia isn't dangerous. You should be worried about what else could be out there."

"I am. I'm worried about everything. Eira is tough, but I still don't want her to get hurt."

If Miles had a younger sibling, he might have known what it was like to have the instincts of an older brother. He could see clearly how paranoid Aaron was, though, so without a second thought he was on his feet and reluctantly offering his hand to help Aaron up.

Aaron, who looked surprised, took Miles' hand and heaved himself to his feet with a groan muffled by biting his tongue. "We're going?" he checked.

"I didn't stand up just for fun." Pocketing his phone, Miles dropped Aaron's hand and cast his gaze around. They were standing behind the school, just outside the playhouse. It was nearly silent, bar the sounds of the night: insects and bats in the near distance. Miles crept carefully around to the front of the school, checking that Aaron was limping after him before speeding up.

"Which way are we going to go first?" asked Aaron when they reached the front of the school, glancing right and left along the road. The streets were just as empty as they had been earlier, but something had changed. It took Miles a short while to realise that all of the streetlights were now out.

They were completely in the dark.

A cold wind shuddered past.

"That way," replied Miles, turning to the right. "We went left, so they'd have gone the other way."

Aaron nodded and stuck close to Miles as they started. To Miles' relief, the flashlight on his phone still worked; it wasn't an app. He flicked it on and shone it into their path as they walked quietly.

Neither of the boys spoke this time. The atmosphere had become, all of a sudden, a lot scarier. Streetlights never blinked out for even a second on any regular day, and yet here were two boys walking in almost utter darkness, the moonlight their only saviour.

"What if we can't find them?" Aaron asked.

Miles shook his head. "We will."

"Answer the question."

Miles shot Aaron a look, surprise misshaping his features. Aaron guiltily and immediately added, "Please."

Miles looked back to the road, adjusting the phone in his hand so the light tilted at a different angle. "If we don't find them, then we stop and rest and keep looking in the morning."

Aaron looked satisfied enough with that answer. "Okay." A pause. "I need a new shirt, by the way."

"If we can't find the girls, we'll stop somewhere where we can get you a new shirt," Miles clipped. "And some proper bandages."

After that, the conversation fell short. Miles was glad - he wanted to be able to listen to the sounds of the night in case anything alarming occurred. What he realised after minutes passing in silence was not the odd noises that he could hear, but lack thereof.

The night was silent.

Aaron's shoes scuffed the concrete as he followed Miles up a slope, and the noise snagged Miles' attention momentarily. "Nice kicks."

Aaron blinked. "Thanks."

Somebody screamed.

It wasn't Aaron. It wasn't Miles.

Terror ignited on Miles' face, and when he looked back at Aaron, he saw his own expression mirrored. "Quick, quick, quick," Miles gasped, and didn't wait for Aaron as he darted in the direction of the horrible noise.

Aaron caught up quickly, panting already. Miles had completely forgotten Aaron's wound, but even when he remembered it, he didn't slow down. Either Aaron kept up, or he didn't.

Somebody screamed again. This time, Aaron said breathlessly, "That's not Eira."

Miles swerved onto the next street, using the wail as guidance. "Eira isn't the only person who could be fucking hurt."

Aaron's upper lip curled for the shortest moment, but he said nothing more. Miles forced himself to run as fast as he could, glad now that he had chosen to leave his backpack at the school, even if he might now ever be able to go back and get it.

Aaron was staggering; blood was seeping through the shirt he'd used as a makeshift bandage. Miles paid it no heed - he was concentrating on too many other things. The light from Miles' phone bounced in time with his steps, and his heart pounded at the same tempo as his short breaths.

There wasn't another scream, but they had to be getting close.

They turned into an alley. With walls on either side, it was even darker in there than it was out on the streets.

Miles skidded, then, slipping in a liquid he'd not spotted on the ground. A short yelp slipped his lips as he fell backwards, trying to catch his balance before he hit the ground. His phone fell from his hand and met the ground on it's back, rendering the alley completely unilluminated.

Then Aaron was there, grabbing Miles frantically and tugging him away from the puddle right before Miles hit the ground. Miles' breath caught and he grappled for something to hold - Aaron's shoulder - while he regained footing.

Both boys share a relieved gasp, Miles especially. Aaron was the first to realiese something was wrong, and said, "Hey, Miles-" before Miles realised that what he'd slipped in was warm and sticky against his calves.

Miles looked up at Aaron as the blond said, "That's blood."

Miles froze, staring at Aaron without a word in response. He didn't turn around.

Drops of the blood smeared on his legs dripped into his shoes. He tried not to think of it.

Another second. Nobody moved, nobody spoke.

Then Aaron did. He rotated his head towards the puddle that Miles had slipped in. Miles closed his eyes as opposed to following Aaron's gaze.

Through the darkness, Aaron squinted. His heartbeat, along with Miles', was almost audible.

"They're dead."

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+1179 words.

Oh dear.