The Altered.

Chapter XVII.

Miles did not dream a second time.

When he awoke again, it was at 8:48 a.m, and he could smell something he recognised. Neither Aaron or Eira were in the room anymore, but when he stirred and peeked through the door, he could see that everybody else was awake and up.

Being the last to rise, Miles heaved himself to his feet and shuffled out into the main room, where he realised that what he could smell was coffee. It was a pleasant, familiar scent - but he didn't know why he could smell it.

Most of the others looked drowsy and unprepared for the day, but when Lia appeared, she took Miles by nice surprise. She must have been awake the longest - she'd tamed her wild hair into a high ponytail and she'd made coffee, which she passed a mug of to Miles the instant he appeared.

She grinned brightly, and Miles couldn't help but feel as if he'd just genuinely woken up as a highschool student in a dorm, emerging from his room to greet a too-friendly roommate. In all honesty, though, Lia's energy made Miles give her a small smile and suspiciously accept the mug of coffee. As if seeing the question in his gaze, she explained, "I couldn't find any proper food here, but there was coffee and there was milk, so naturally I made some. It'll help wake you up, too!" She gave Miles' cheek a pat and he flinched at the unexpected touch, but she didn't notice before she turned on her heels and trotted back into the kitchenette. The small white battery-powered kettle was bubbling away, apparently to make more coffee for everybody else who hadn't yet recieved any.

As Miles padded into the main part of the room near the sofa, Aaron looked up and gave him a warm smile. "Sleep well?"

Before Miles could answer, Eira looked over her shoulder at him and waved him over. "We could use a little help here!"

Taking a small sip from the coffee (and surprised when it tasted completely normal) Miles realised that Eira and Luca and Aaron were working on putting things in a backpack that they could take with them today. The bag was still empty, but around the three teens seated on the floor was an array of all kinds of things. Flashlights, the remaining things from the first aid kit, glass-bottled water, and even an e-Screen, which is what interested Miles most.

Miles approached the three of them, setting down his mug on the coffee-table near the sofa and then slowly lowering himself to the ground with a wince. "Where did you find this?" he asked, reaching for the e-Screen and tapping it on.

Just like all e-Screens were meant to, the thin rectangular screen displayed the time - though it was the wrong time - today's weather forecast, and a small calendar for the month that had no dates in it. What was odd was that where the news was meant to display every day on every e-Screen, there was nothing but strange symbols and characters that Miles couldn't decipher. Typically, e-Screens were kept in most people's living rooms or kitchens or any place where they could cast it a quick glance each morning. The devices usually had brackets so that they could sit on walls.

On the wall by the Digi-Screen, there was a bracket; no doubt where this e-Screen he held now had come from. E-Screens were about the size of a standard piece of paper, but portable nonetheless. It was smart for the group to think of taking it, though without being charged it wouldn't last many weeks.

"What's the deal with the news column?" Miles asked, passing the e-Screen back to Eira, who slid it gently into the backpack.

"We don't know," she replied. "That's why we're taking it. We were thinking it could be written in some kind of code or something. Or maybe something will show up later. It's just a good idea that we take it."

Miles nodded. "Okay, what did you need my help with?"

Luca answered that question, to Miles' surprise. "We need to decide what else to take. We have first-aid, the e-Screen, and... well, you can see what we've already got."

Aaron nodded. "Do you think we should bring spare clothes? Food or anything?"

Eira added quietly, "Or weapons?"

Miles was momentarily overwhelmed that the responsibility of deciding was placed on him, since he didn't really have a plan for what they'd be taking. "We don't need spare clothes," he started. "It's too much to carry and we can get clothes from plenty of other places. Food... well, Lia said there isn't much here, and as much as I'd like to, we can't run on coffee. So the food will have to come from elsewhere, too." Miles paused to take another sip of his coffee, grateful that the mug was a type that was meant to keep drinks warm for hours on end. The beverage burned his tongue, though, and he quickly became ungrateful. "Weapons, though..."

At the mention of weapons, images of Harvey, of the alley, of blood-spattered concrete flashed through Miles' mind, and he rapidly looked the other way so nobody could see how his expression twisted into one of horror for a moment where he couldn't do anything about it. Forcing himself to school his expression, Miles said slowly, "Um, yeah. But nothing too dangerous. What were you thinking of? The only thing here is like, kitchen knives."

If anyone noticed his short moment of fright, they didn't mention it. "That's the problem," Aaron sighed, leaning back against the bottom of the sofa and resting his hands over where his wound was. "It's too dangerous to just put knives in the bag."

"Maybe not." Lia had appeared suddenly, a few too many knives in her hands. She waved them around. Miles was relieved to see that they were harmless in their current state, and Lia was quick to mention this too. "These ones have silicone covers over the blade, so they could sit safely in the backpack and if we need them, we just ditch the little safety covers and stab some stuff."

"Lia, you're getting far too caught up in this." Aaron reached out and took the five knives from her, making sure their black silicone cases stayed on as he slid them into the bag.

Her reply came in a sing-songy voice. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

Miles helped Aaron and Eira finished packing the bag with everything else they had gathered to put in, and during this time Lia and Luca tried their hardest to fix up the dorm to look mostly identical to how it had been when the group had entered in the very-early hours of morning.

By the time they were all getting up and finally getting ready to go, a loud bang and clutter from the hallway startled everybody.

Miles froze. Everybody did.

A few seconds passed.

Then, without warning, there was another loud bang, like somebody hitting the wall. A pained cry split the air.

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+1163 Words.

Sorry about the length of this chapter and also how it ended... it'll all be explained in the next chapter, I promise!

I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Please vote and comment if you are!

- Reb <3