The Altered.

Chapter XXII.

"By the way," added Bri as she started to drift towards one particular house, "we're not staying in the actual house. Claire - she's from our group - found an old treehouse out the back. It's big enough for all of us and probably you guys, too. It's pretty high up; we thought it would be safer if we had the ability to see what was going on from up there, in case there were any intruders or anything. So I hope none of you are afraid of heights."

Miles had never seen a treehouse. He didn't even think they still existed, except in places like this. Did children even climb trees anymore? Probably not - he hadn't as a kid.

A threatening rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, and the sky earned a nervous glance from Percy. Everybody else seemed to ignore it, and Bri didn't even seem to notice it as she opened the rickety gate to a yard and walked in. From the inside, she held the gate until everybody else had filed in, then closed it again. It clicked closed and for a second, Miles had to get over his confusion as to why the gate didn't just have a passcode. After that short internal dilemma, Miles trotted after the group, who was following Bri around a small, run-down house and out into its backyard.

It must have been grassy, once, but now all that remained was dust and dead weeds. Leafless trees bleakly lined the fences that surrounded the barren yard, and it wasn't until they reached the backyard that there was actually a sudden appearance of bright greens.

"An evergreen tree," Luca breathed, sounding and appearing absolutely enthralled by the sight of it. Trees like this didn't exist in many places anymore.

The tree was huge, growing out from the centre of the yard. It must have been centuries old, undoubtedly. In it, as expected, was a treehouse which looked surprisingly stable to belong in a yard like this. An unpromising ladder dangled from a trapdoor in the floor of the structure. As Bri had mentioned, it was high up, but that didn't bother Miles.

"I wish we'd decided to bring a change of clothes," muttered Aaron under his breath while he waited at the bottom of the treehouse, as Bri started to climb the ladder.

Miles didn't say it aloud, but he agreed. He was still slightly damp from the creek, even though they'd been walking for so long and the cool breeze had been enough to help him dry faster. When he looked at Aaron, he noticed how the blond had one hand pressed to the location of his wound.

"Dude-" Miles started, but didn't get to finished.

"Don't worry," Aaron said, looking at Miles and giving him a taut smile. "I'm fine. The bandages are just wet and it's really not a pleasant feeling."

Before Miles could reply, Eira grabbed his elbow and pulled him towards the ladder. "You go next," she said. "You and Aaron are hurt, so Bri can help you from the top and we can catch you if you fall."

The fact that the group was so considerate might have been endearing, had Miles been anybody else. But instead of appreciating their efforts, he was almost offended by them. "You really think I can't climb a ladder?"

Eira didn't reply, just pointed expectantly to the ladder.

Miles didn't bother arguing. He aggressively grabbed the first wooden rung on the ladder and experimentally tugged on it, but it seemed stable enough to carry his weight. With that, he started to climb, wincing every time he put strain on his wounded shoulder.

When he was nearly at the top, Bri extended a hand from where she was kneeling on the inside floor of the treehouse, and he reached up to grab it so she could help him up. As soon as he was inside, he was overwhelmed by too many sets of eyes staring expectantly at him.

"This is the group," Bri explained, lifting her hands to gesture to everybody else in the room. As Bri had said, the treehouse was surprisingly large enough to accommodate this many people and more. Not exactly comfortably, but it would do.

Bri leaned down again to grab Aaron's hand and help him scramble into the treehouse. The instant he looked up and saw so many people, Aaron's first reaction was to look at Miles, who deliberately glanced away.

Aaron pulled himself to his feet, keeping his head shyly lowered, and trotted to Miles and Bri almost instantly. His cowering and big, nervous eyes made him somewhat resemble a kicked puppy.

Bri leaned down once more to help the next person up, but the second she knelt down, her expression became one of horror.

"What's wrong?" Miles asked, taking a step towards her.

Bri didn't respond, but from the ground, Eira's frantic voice rose. "Percy?"

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+1424 Words.

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- Reb <3